CDA approves extension of Blue Area

SLAMABAD – In a bid to generate more funds, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Wednesday approved the extension of Blue Area through which the authority can generate billions of rupees by the auctioning its commercial plots, sources told Pakistan Today on Wednesday.

The decision to extend the blue area was taken during a special meeting of CDA board members here at the convention center. A source privy to the meeting told the authority was mulling to generate more funds through auctioning plots of the Blue Area and that was why it had now decided to implement the long pending plan of extending the main commercial hub of the federal capital. However, real estate experts do not see the said plan as more beneficial for the civic body as the property business in the country is on the decline. “As the value of Pak Rupee has declined, so on one is ready to invest in the country,” said Zulfiqar, a real estate dealer.

The sources in the CDA said the authority also could not fetch enough profit from the sale of commercial and residential plots during the recently held auction in January. The plan to extend the commercial area was made several years back, they added, according to which initially the Blue Area will be extended to Sector F-10 and later it will be stretched up to F-14.

Some other issues including development of low income housing scheme in Zone-IV and the proposal of the establishing a media city and apartments in Diplomatic Enclave were also discussed.

Under the said plan, high-rise media towers will be established in the Diplomatic Enclave which will house all media groups, TV channels and newspapers. Besides, restaurants, hotels and commercial centers have also been proposed in the scheme. The CDA required three to four fund generating schemes for handing over to banks for launching of municipal bonds. The project of media towers is one of such schemes.

The CDA had announced three years ago that it would launch municipal bonds to improve its financial health. A low income housing scheme in Zone-IV has also been planned and the proposal will also be discussed in the board meeting, the sources revealed.

The sources further said that deliberations to name some streets and roads of sector I/8 after deceased federal minister for minorities Shahbaz Bhatti will also be carried out today (Thursday) as the meeting of the board members was adjourned until today.