CDA to repay Rs350m to federal govt
For the first time, the apex civic agency of the federal capital will return as much as Rs350 million to the federal government from its budget.
The payment is part of the process to return an Rs5 billion cash development loan which the authority had taken from the federal government in June 2016.
In a statement on Monday, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) said that the authority had introduced financial discipline. This allowed the authority to attain a position where it can start paying instalments to repay the loan.
In this regard, the first instalment of Rs350 million had been approved by CDA Chairman Aamer Ali Ahmed from the authority’s budget for the fiscal year 2020-21.
The statement said that the loan had been granted to CDA in 2016 at a fixed rate of seven per cent.
The loan was to be repaid over 20 years, along with interest, once the initial five year grace period for recovery of the principal amount had expired. During the grace period, only the interest was to be paid while the principal amount will have to be paid along with interest after the expiry of the grace period in 2020-21.
The CDA chief noted that having put the authority on a path of financial stability, they had now decided to repay the loan and the first instalment has been approved for the purpose.
Along with repayment of the loan, Ahmed said that financial discipline has allowed the authority to work on multiple development projects in the city, including many which have been pending for years.
This includes the residential projects of Sector I-11, I-12, I-15, E-12, and Park Enclave where development work is progressing simultaneously.
Similarly, the authority has also undertaken infrastructure development projects such as the Sector G-7 and G-8 interchange and the reconstruction of the Burma Bridge. The authority said that owing to the fiscal discipline, they were able to ensure the availability of an uninterrupted supply of funds for the projects so that they can be completed on time.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2020.