MDA earns Rs650m from rights auction

Plans to gross in a billion rupees by selling advertising rights on bus stand

ISLAMABAD: The top earning body of the IMC, Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA), has grossed in Rs650 millions or the municipality in 2017.

DMA’s main source of income remained auctioning of rights to run Diplomatic Shuttle Service, advertisement, parking and issuing of open space licenses.

DMA Director Ali Sufiyan told the media the directorate was expecting to earn Rs1 billion in next three months from the auction of advertising rights on Sector G-9 bus stand and recoveries from BTS Towers.

Senior official of the authority said that during the year of 2015-16 the recoveries of DMA were remained Rs342 millions but current management of the directorate has doubled it in the current fiscal year.

MPO at work

Meanwhile after revamping Machine Pool Organisation (MPO) directorate and acting upon self-reliance policy, road carpeting and repair and maintenance in the entire city is being carried out by own resources of authority due to which sufficient funds were saved in addition to ensuring superior quality of work.

According to official documents, during the last one year, MPO directorate carried out carpeting of 190 kilometers roads all over the city including Constitution Avenue, Pir Sohawa road, Sector G-8 Roundabout, Secretariat Blocks, Sector D-12, Convention Centre, Diplomatic Enclave, Service Road(North) Sector E-11, Khyaban-e-Suherwardi, Serena Chowk, VIP Loop Fiazabad Chowk, Khaiban-e-Iqbal, Margalla Road and Parbat Road and other major and small roads of the city.

In all these projects, sufficient funds were saved which were utilized on other development activities.CDA official said that Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has made Machinery Pool Organization (MPO) an effective and self sustainable formation. MPO is not only meeting requirements of the MCI but other private departments can also hire services and machinery of MPO Directorate which will surely generate handsome revenue for MCI, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2018.