To resolve Park Enclave problems, all works scrapped

CDA’s crown jewel planning and design reset; development to take another year.

ISLAMABAD:

Almost a year-and-a-half after its launch, the Park Enclave housing project, also called the ‘Jewel of Islamabad’ is back to square one.

On December 5, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) put up an advertisement on its website inviting applications from consultants for the project. Once hired, the consultant will plan, design and supervise the construction of the gated elitist housing project’s infrastructure, including roads, bridges, water drainage and supply, afresh.

The project, which was launched in July 2011 during the tenure of former CDA Chairman Imtiaz Inayat Elahi, was supposed to be completed in one year, but the civic agency has failed to complete work, with almost non-existent on-site development, due to ill-planning, bureaucratic red-tape and competition from the private sector, some officials and experts said.

In order to complete the project in haste, the CDA in violation of rules hired Nespak as a consultant on single-tender basis. But the Cabinet Division rejected the CDA’s attempt to get a one-time waiver on the tendering rules.

The civic agency then tried to proceed with development through a design-build strategy, but all four construction companies which were approved for pre-qualification failed to satisfy the technical requirements of Nespak, the vetting agency in this case.

Now, 17 months later, the CDA is all set to start a fresh the process of procurement, planning and design, and development work might take another year to complete.

The civic agency’s planning wing already has a layout plan, but it does not account for the engineering and survey, according to engineering member Sanaullah Aman.

The layout also has technical flaws, according to a CDA official privy to the plan. The official, requesting anonymity said that in the layout, the sewage treatment plant is on an elevated area, whereas such facilities are advisably installed in low-lying areas. Additionally, the CDA is not allowed to use in-house expertise for the project’s planning and design.

“As per Public Procurement Regulatory Authority and Pakistan Engineering Council regulations, the civic body is bound to hire an external consultant for projects worth over Rs300 million,” Aman maintained. This project is worth Rs3 billion, he added.

A planning wing official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the project would see further delays.

“The process of hiring a consultant and the subsequent planning and design alone would require at least another four months,” the official said.

The project also suffered because it was pitted against a private sector housing scheme. The Bahria Enclave housing scheme, located right in front of the Park Enclave, offered plots at comparatively cheaper rates and owners have already received possession of their plots, the official added.

But Aman was optimistic about the project’s completion. He said the entire development work will be completed by December 2013. He said the project has been divided into five phases: construction of boundary wall, access roads, entrance gate, detailed planning and design, and a sewage treatment plant.

The CDA has taken up the first three phases, Aman said. The remaining two will be managed by consultants and contractors.

CDA spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said 642 of the 700 plots offered in 2011 have been booked. Each plot is worth Rs12 million. The civic agency collected Rs1.2 million as down payment on plots, which amounts to Rs720 million. The remaining amount is to be paid in instalments.

For now, it remains to be seen when the down payments and instalments will translate into direct benefit for the plot owners.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 11^th, 2012.