PM greenlights residential project in capital

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved a new residential project named Orchard View for Overseas Pakistanis along the banks of the Korang River.

The project will feature three thousand villas and luxury apartments equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board has also sanctioned the hiring of an international-level transaction advisory firm specialising in river view development for the project.

In the coming days, CDA will advertise to seek expressions of interest from firms of international repute. The project is expected to generate a total profit of Rs180 billion for the CDA.

CDA sources informed The Express Tribune that a total of 1,400 kanals of land has been allocated for the Orchard View project. The project will commence from Islamabad Club and extend along the Korang River to Margalla Town Phase II. This residential initiative will be completed on a joint venture basis, with no financial expenditure from the CDA.

The target is to complete this project within 18 to 24 months, with work proceeding around the clock to meet the deadline.

The contract for this project will be awarded to an internationally renowned firm with expertise in riverfront development. The waters of the Korang River will be cleaned and revitalised, enhancing its beauty with clean, clear water stocked with fish, providing residents with a captivating and scenic view.

Special technology plants will be imported to make the waters of the Korang River clear. This project aims to be a world-class residential development in Pakistan.

Additionally, the project takes into account the Korang River's risk of becoming a sewer due to neglect, carelessness, and land encroachments by the mafia along its banks, which threatened to turn the river into a drain in future.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was given a detailed briefing on this issue, and CDA officials proposed the initiation of a residential project in the area. He immediately issued orders to commence work.

Sources further revealed that the feasibility of this project has been completed and approved. Under the plan, two thousand luxury apartments and one thousand villas will be constructed on the 1,400 kanals of land.

These properties will be allotted to overseas Pakistanis at discounted prices. The payments will be deposited in dollars with the State Bank of Pakistan, which will then pay the CDA in Pakistani rupees, thereby increasing the country's foreign exchange reserves.

A senior CDA officer told The Express Tribune that this project will not only clean the waters of the Korang River but will also eliminate environmental pollution in the surrounding area.