ISLAMABAD: The capital city will have another five-star hotel as the civic agency auctioned a hotel plot during the three-day auction of commercial plots.

The incentivised auction of commercial plots in Blue Area concluded on Friday. The CDA fetched Rs17.04 billion against the sale of 12 plots. The 7,000 square yard plot for the five-star hotel was auctioned against Rs2.03 billion.

The capital city so far has only two mega hotels - Serena and Marriott.

On the final day of the auction pushed by Prime Minster Imran Khan, who also visited the proposed sites in January this year apparently to give confidence to investors, the CDA auctioned four plots at a cost of Rs4.26 billion. The CDA had put 24 plots and half of them were auctioned.

12 commercial plots auctioned, fetching Rs17bn for CDA

Collectively, the auction committee received bids for 15 plots amounting to Rs22 billion but it considered bids for 12 plots.

“This auction is historical one. The last highest auction was of Rs11 billion held last year but this time we broke all the record,” said CDA spokesperson Mazhar Hussain.

About the hotel plot, he said it was sufficient to even construct a seven-star hotel, adding construction of the new hotel will add to the business activities and create jobs.

However, an official of the CDA said in the past auctions CDA used to offer plots located in various areas and the latest auction was exclusively for Blue Area, the city’s business district.

Secondly, he said, for this auction the CDA had also introduced special incentives for investors while the prime minister’s recent package also gave a boost to the construction industry resulting in the success of the auction.

“The auction proved to be a major success for the government and CDA as it attracted a large number of investors who made this auction a historic one and put a seal on business and investment friendly policies of the government and CDA,” said a statement issued by the CDA.

CDA Chairman Amer Ali Ahmed appreciated the investors for their participation in the auction proceedings and reposing their confidence in the government policies.

He said success of the auction reflected the fact that investors were happy with the business friendly atmosphere in Pakistan in general and Islamabad in particular.

He said the CDA will provide one-window facilitation to successful bidders to ensure that construction activity on auctioned plots started at the earliest for activation of economic activities and generation of employment opportunities in the country as per vision of the prime minister.

The CDA had announced special incentives for the auction which include a dedicated team to facilitate the investors at every step, first installment of 25pc within 30 days of bid acceptance, building plan approval facility after the first installment and 10 percent discount on full payment in advance, advance income tax on pro rata basis and 100pc coverage for less than 1,000 sq-yd plots.

The bidders who get their building plans approved by December 31 will be eligible for the benefit of the prime minister’s package announced for the for construction industry, which include reduction in tax rate and exemption from source of income declaration.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2020