Commercial plot auction: CDA fetches Rs4 billion from 14 plots

The CDA Board reserves final authority to approve bids.

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) completed its planned two-day commercial plot auction on Wednesday.

The civic agency auctioned 14 commercial plots over the two days for a total bidding amount of Rs4 billion.

According to the CDA, Rs1 billion worth of bids would be received in the first instalment. Four of the plots are located in Sector I-11/4 and four in I-8 Markaz. Three plots in F-11 Markaz and one each in F-8 Markaz, I-10/3 and G-5 were also auctioned.

The civic agency’s auction committee will be submitting its recommendations to the CDA Board, which reserves the final authority to approve the bids. The auction was supervised by a committee headed by CDA Finance Member Azhar Ali Chaudhry.

On Tuesday, investors had staged a two-hour boycott of the auction proceedings. The investors accused the CDA administration of conniving with a group of investors who always win the bids at CDA auctions.

Other investors also protested against slow processing of plot documents after the approval of bids and changes in building by-laws which have increased the minimum car park space required.

The civic agency only received five bids on Tuesday, four of which were below the plots’ reserve prices.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 22^nd, 2013.