Blue Area auction gets ‘enthusiastic response’

Officials say four plots received bids per expectations

ISLAMABAD:

Investors on Wednesday bid as much as Rs11.7 billion on seven commercial plots which have been put up for sale by the city as part of its plans to develop a new commercial strip in the Blue Area.

Organised by the Capital Development Authority (CDA), the first day of the three-day auction for as many as 24 commercial mixed-use plots, was held on Wednesday.

With plots ranging from small, 600 square yards, all the way up to 10,000 square yards up for sale, the authority claimed that it received an “enormous response” from investors on the first day of the auction.

A spokesperson for the authority said that the authority had received bids for seven of the 24 plots up for sale. The total value of the bids was Rs11.7 billion.

The 10-member auction committee set up by the CDA and is led by the authority’s Member Finance, accepted bids against four of the plots worth Rs7.25 billion. Authority officials said that this was the value they had expected to raise as per the estimates in their budget.

However, the auction committee - which also includes CDA members of Estate, Planning and Development, DFA-II, law director-general, directors of public relations, urban planning, regional planning, EM-II and finance - deemed that the bids against the remaining three plots, worth around Rs4.458 billion can only be considered as “offers”.

All bids received will be presented before the CDA’s board for formally approving the bids.

The committee noted that they were expecting higher bids for these plots over the next two days.

The auction will continue on Thursday and Friday.

CDA officials said the authority has announced special incentives for the auction, including the designation of a dedicated team to facilitate investors at every step. Moreover, the authority had offered incentives to potential investors, allowing them to submit 25 per cent of the plot value as the first instalment within 30 days of their bid being accepted.

Moreover, their building plans would be approved after the first instalment is paid and a 10 per cent discount if the investor pays the total value of the plot in advance. Similarly, advance income tax would be charged on a pro-rata basis. To further attract investors, it has allowed 100 per cent coverage for plots smaller than 1,000 square yards, and over 75 per cent for plots larger than that.

Every plot will have a circulation strip around it with ample public parking. Moreover, newly developed building by-laws will be applicable such as the ability to build parking floors other than in the basement and their exclusion from the floor area ratio (FAR).

A similar exemption will apply to circulation and service areas for buildings, allowing these buildings to be constructed in a 360-degree manner.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 16^th, 2020.