Know your clout: Capital’s mega structure stalls mega payments
Centaurus yet to pay Rs816 million to CDA; blames the civic agency for not providing basic amenities.
ISLAMABAD:
The controversy over payment of instalments of land price worth millions of rupees between the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the administration of Centaurus Towers in F-8 Sector is yet to be resolved. The money involved in the conflict is Rs816 million.
Despite repeated rescheduling, the administration of the underconstruction residential-commercial and hotel complex has not yet paid the instalments of the price of the 6.5 acre land to the CDA since 2008. It blames the civic agency for “not providing basic amenities such as water, sewerage, drainage and power connections” to Centaurus due to which the instalments were stopped.
However, CDA officials contended that providing basic facilities to the complex was the responsibility of a local builder. The officials said that the dispute could not be resolved as yet.
The authority rescheduled the terms of payments time and again through amendments in the contract and granted relaxation for payments up to December 2012 without approval of the Ministry of Finance, an official told The Express Tribune.
He said that recently Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), in its annual audit report, observed that unauthorised rescheduling was made due to weak financial controls and asked the authority to make the recovery of Rs816 million without further delay.
The civic agency gave 6.5 acres land to Pak-Gulf Construction, a consortium of a Saudi Arabian and a local company, for Rs6.09 billion, with 25 per cent of the price paid in advance for constructing the 35-storey tower comprising a mega mall, luxurious apartments and penthouses, corporate offices and a deluxe hotel. The remaining 75 per cent was payable in 12 equal quarterly instalments up to August 10, 2008.
However, the construction consortium refused to pay the instalments to CDA. The payment schedule was revised again in 2009 under which the construction company was asked to pay the quarterly instalments of the principal amount of the cost of land. This amount stood at Rs82.06 million and was to be paid from December 2008 to September 2009 and from December 2009 to June 2010, three instalments of Rs162.67 million were contracted to be paid.
The sources informed The Express Tribune that CDA in its written reply told the AGP that the consortium did not pay the pledged amount, saying that the civic agency did not fulfil its commitment of providing with the required facilities.
Moreover, construction of 47 storeys for the shopping centre was approved in violation of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulation due to which the plan was revised and size of the centre was reduced drastically. Under the new arrangement, the centre would have 35 storeys instead of 47. The rules of the aviation authority which are liable to be implemented in the whole country allow maximum height of 417 feet for apartments and offices from road level and 500 feet for hotel towers.
When contacted CAA Deputy Director-General Ghulam Murtaza Malik conceding his negligence, said, “It was my ignorance because I had signed the maps, it was ignorance of CDA Board that was not aware of CAA rules while approving 47 storeys towers.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2011.
The controversy over payment of instalments of land price worth millions of rupees between the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the administration of Centaurus Towers in F-8 Sector is yet to be resolved. The money involved in the conflict is Rs816 million.
Despite repeated rescheduling, the administration of the underconstruction residential-commercial and hotel complex has not yet paid the instalments of the price of the 6.5 acre land to the CDA since 2008. It blames the civic agency for “not providing basic amenities such as water, sewerage, drainage and power connections” to Centaurus due to which the instalments were stopped.
However, CDA officials contended that providing basic facilities to the complex was the responsibility of a local builder. The officials said that the dispute could not be resolved as yet.
The authority rescheduled the terms of payments time and again through amendments in the contract and granted relaxation for payments up to December 2012 without approval of the Ministry of Finance, an official told The Express Tribune.
He said that recently Auditor General of Pakistan (AGP), in its annual audit report, observed that unauthorised rescheduling was made due to weak financial controls and asked the authority to make the recovery of Rs816 million without further delay.
The civic agency gave 6.5 acres land to Pak-Gulf Construction, a consortium of a Saudi Arabian and a local company, for Rs6.09 billion, with 25 per cent of the price paid in advance for constructing the 35-storey tower comprising a mega mall, luxurious apartments and penthouses, corporate offices and a deluxe hotel. The remaining 75 per cent was payable in 12 equal quarterly instalments up to August 10, 2008.
However, the construction consortium refused to pay the instalments to CDA. The payment schedule was revised again in 2009 under which the construction company was asked to pay the quarterly instalments of the principal amount of the cost of land. This amount stood at Rs82.06 million and was to be paid from December 2008 to September 2009 and from December 2009 to June 2010, three instalments of Rs162.67 million were contracted to be paid.
The sources informed The Express Tribune that CDA in its written reply told the AGP that the consortium did not pay the pledged amount, saying that the civic agency did not fulfil its commitment of providing with the required facilities.
Moreover, construction of 47 storeys for the shopping centre was approved in violation of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulation due to which the plan was revised and size of the centre was reduced drastically. Under the new arrangement, the centre would have 35 storeys instead of 47. The rules of the aviation authority which are liable to be implemented in the whole country allow maximum height of 417 feet for apartments and offices from road level and 500 feet for hotel towers.
When contacted CAA Deputy Director-General Ghulam Murtaza Malik conceding his negligence, said, “It was my ignorance because I had signed the maps, it was ignorance of CDA Board that was not aware of CAA rules while approving 47 storeys towers.”
Published in The Express Tribune, May 25th, 2011.