ISLAMABAD: The Prime Minister’s Office has sought more information from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) that requested the premier to sanction an interest-free loan of Rs3 billion for the rehabilitation of the Jinnah Convention Centre ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

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According to the CDA, the civic body started the renovation work at the Jinnah Convention Centre under its emergency clause, which allows the agency to skip the competitive process. After completing the work, the CDA handed over the centre to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday for the two-day SCO moot to be held on October 15-16.

Following the renovations, the convention centre wears a new look. The main hall, committee rooms, and corridors have been renovated and new toilet facilities have been installed under the rehabilitation project. Similarly, flooring works, paint, glasswork, furniture, and carpets have been replaced. “The work has been conducted per international standards and now the JCC has been made an exemplary venue for hosting international and national events,” a CDA officer claimed.

CDA engineering wing officials told Dawn that they had yet to calculate the amount spent on the project, which included civil and electrical repairs, as well as some other supplementary works. They confirmed that the CDA had recently requested Rs3 billion from the federal government.

Agency sought interest-free loan citing renovations at the Jinnah Convention Centre for SCO summit

“It is not necessary that Rs3 billion was spent on the JCC; we sought this amount as an interest-free loan. The amount spent on JCC is yet to be determined and in case of surplus funds, the money would be spent on other development projects,” he said, adding that the CDA board gave a go-ahead to place this matter before the federal government.

“We had … almost two months and had we invited tenders for this task then the work would not have been completed in such a short period of time,” an official claimed.

He said the emergency clause could be invoked by the competent forum in light of special circumstances.

Sources in the interior ministry said the ministry had forwarded the summary for the loan to the PM’s Office. However, the PM’s Office sought more information.

They said the PM’s Office sought details about the requirements and the spending plan for the JCC renovations and the process undertaken to assess the cost.

The sources said the PM’s Office also asked about the Rs5 billion loan sanctioned to the CDA in the Financial Year 2015-16 and the repayment plan for the requested new loan.

It also advised the CDA to explore other options, like public-private partnerships to avoid spending large sums from the national exchequer.

The demand for additional information required by the PM’s Office had been conveyed to the CDA and after including their reply in summary, the same would be tabled before the PM for his approval, said sources.

It is relevant to note that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the CDA chairman and several ministers took a personal interest in the timely completion of the work and made several visits to ensure it was effectively done.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2024