Despite the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic keeping investor confidence low the world over, the civic administrators of the federal capital on Friday received out a relatively good response for its latest megaproject, to build a new commercial district and skyline in the city.
The three-day auction for a ‘new vision’ of the commercial area in Blue Area concluded at the Jinnah Convention Centre on Friday. Officials of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) said that they received bids worth a whopping Rs22 billion for 15 of the 24 plots up for sale.
However, the 10-member auction committee only considered bids for 12 plots, worth Rs17.04 billion.
On the third day, officials said that they received bids for four plots worth a total of Rs4.26 billion.
PM Imran approves ‘New Blue Area’ project
Officials said that the highest bid they had received for any plot was Rs1.5 million per square yards. Moreover, they said that the largest plot put up for auction measured 7,000 square yards.
The brochure for the auction listed at least two plots who were larger than 7,000 square yards (both measuring 10,111 square yards) while the smallest plots on offer measured just 611.11 square yards (four such plots were included in the auction). A total of 12 plots measuring less than 1,000 square yards were put on the anvil.
Earlier, on the first day of the auction, the authority had received bids worth Rs11.7 billion for seven plots of which bids for only four plots worth Rs7.25 billion were considered while bids worth Rs4.45 billion for the other three plots were considered to be “options”.
On the second day, the CDA received bids for another four plots worth Rs5.54 billion. These proceeds, officials said, were equal to their expectations as listed in their budget estimates for the fiscal year 2020-21.
These bids will now be sent to CDA’s board for final approval.
CDA Chairman Aamer Ali Ahmed thanked investors for their participation in the auction proceedings and reposing their confidence in the policies of the government and the CDA.
He added that the enormous success of the auction is a reflection of the fact that the business and investor community is happy with the business-friendly atmosphere in Pakistan in general and Islamabad in particular.
Ahmed, who also leads the Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) as the chief commissioner, further said that the CDA will provide one-window facilitation to all successful bidders to ensure that construction on the auctioned plots can start at the earliest and with it kick-start economic activities in the country.
Blue Area plots go under the hammer next week
Earlier, the CDA had announced special incentives for this auction which included a dedicated team to facilitate investors at every step, allowing the payment of the first instalment of 25 per cent within 30 days of the bid being accepted. Moreover, the building plan can be approved once the first instalment is paid while investors can avail a 10 per cent discount on the cost of their plot if they pay the full payment in advance.
Similarly, advance income tax on pro-rata basis and 100 per cent coverage for plots smaller than 1,000 square yards, and 70 to 75 per cent coverage for plots larger than that.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 18th, 2020.
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