ISLAMABAD: After deciding to convert the proposed Ladies Club in Sector G-10 into Islamabad Gymkhana, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has now planned to set up an information technology park at the said building, which has been lying vacant for over a decade.

A pitch has been drafted by the IT wing of the CDA in this regard, which proposed that instead of a ladies club or Gymkhana, the administration should use this building as an IT park.

This proposal will be placed before the CDA board for consideration. “Yes, we have proposed the establishment of an IT Park in this building. We will place this proposal before the board. Right now, it is a proposal, the final decision will be taken by the board,” said a CDA official.

Asked why the ladies club or Gymkhana was not being established at the said site, the official informed Dawn that the building had been lying vacant for years and still required at least Rs1 billion for setting up a club at this building.

Instead of this building, the CDA has decided to make the citizen club in F-9 functional at the earliest.

“We have F-9 Citizen Club building, so we will set up a club in that building where both male and female members will be provided with the best facilities,” the official said and added that an administrator for the club was recently appointed by the caretaker prime minister for a period of two years.

The name of the F-9 Citizen Club has been changed to Gandhara Heritage and Culture Centre. According to a notification issued on December 1, Member Technology Nauman Khalid has been given charge of administrator of this centre for two years, in addition to his duties. The official said that the government and the CDA were going to make this centre functional for citizens.

Since F-9 will have a club for citizens, the proposed Gymkhana site will be used for the IT park. It is relevant to note here that the construction of the Ladies Club in G-10 was started in 2007 and after three years, it was abandoned following the completion of grey structure and civil works. Since then, not a single step has been taken to make the building functional for citizens.

Initially, the contract for this project was awarded against Rs182.8 million and work was started in January 2007. It, however, was suspended a month and a half later and the building was subsequently redesigned by the consultant. Two additional basement floors were added to the original plan and the cost was revised to Rs335.7m; however, finishing touches inside the structure were halted due to so-called financial constraints in 2010. Still, there is no progress.

The CDA officials said that millions of rupees had already been spent on construction work while the building stands on a plot worth billions of rupees. “Keeping this project abandoned for years is negligence which warrants proper inquiry. The CDA should carry out finishing work as soon as possible to put this building to use,” said an official.

This is another CDA venture that tanked due to poor planning. Several other projects, including Shakarparian Cultural Complex, Art and Craft Village, and F-9 Citizens Club could not be completed on time due to similar reasons.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2023