ISLAMABAD: The city managers are exploring legal options to ascertain if a hotel could be established in Gandhara Centre, formerly known as the Citizen Club in Fatima Jinnah Park F-9, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also wanted better utilisation of this building, including the construction of a five-star hotel.

Sources said the issue of setting up a hotel in the public park was discussed in some informal meetings of the CDA high-ups and the law department was asked to look into it. An official of the CDA law wing told Dawn that recently PM Shehbaz, while chairing a meeting on the Citizen Club issue, had directed the CDA and the law ministry to file a petition in the Supreme Court for the review of its 2010 decision.

In 2010, when the club building was near completion, the Supreme Court ruled: “As a huge amount has already been spent [on the club] the CDA, with the approval of the federal government, instead of abandoning the project may utilise the building and other facilities for any public welfare project, like a women university, medical/engineering college, science, technology or IT institution”.

After the CDA completed the work on this club a few years ago, it renamed the building Gandhara Citizen Club.

CDA to file review petition in Supreme Court,approach PPP authorityfor ‘better utilisation’of abandoned facility

However, it remains non-operational. The facility is spread over 22 acres with a 265,000 square feet covered area.

Sources said PM Shehbaz also directed the CDA to coordinate with the public-private partnership authority for a feasible plan for the Citizen Club, including the construction of a five-star hotel.

However, a CDA official confirmed they were planning to move a review petition in the Supreme Court. He added that the CDA had also approached the public-private partnership authority regarding the ‘better utilisation’ of the club building.

A final decision would be made only after the court decision in the review petition.

When contacted, CDA’s spokesperson Shahid Kiani neither confirmed nor denied the proposal for the construction of the five-star hotel in the Citizen Club building.

He said, “The CDA is working in light of the Supreme Court judgement for better utilisation of the building for public welfare,” he said.

It is relevant to note that in 2021, the CDA board after renaming the building, approved rules for the centre. The facility was supposed to be used for conventions and exhibitions and would have a museum depicting Gandhara culture.

According to the proposal floated at the time, the centre will be opened to the public initially for a one-time/lifetime membership fee of Rs500,000. According to the CDA documents, Rs2.5 billion is expected to be generated from the initial lifetime membership of 5,000 patrons which will help recover CDA’s investment of Rs2 billion.

It was decided that the club would be opened to the public for a monthly subscription fee, but the members would need to deposit a one-time security deposit of Rs50,000.

However, nothing has been implemented as the building still awaits visitors, and now a new proposal is under consideration that envisions a hotel instead.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2025