ISLAMABAD – The Capital Development Authority (CDA), after two-day auction of commercial plots on pre-qualification basis, has received bids worth Rs 5.28 billion against six commercial plots including ex-Margalla Towers plot.
On Friday the ex-Margalla Towers plot fetched bid of Rs 1.66 billion approximately Rs 90 million less than the amount Authority has already paid as compensation to the owners of 75 residential apartments of the building that collapsed in 2005 earthquake.
On the last day of two-day auction of plots, four commercial plots were offered by CDA for bidding. Collectively, four plots received bids worth Rs 3.22 billion. While on Thursday, the first day of auction, two commercial plots have received bids worth Rs 2.06 billion approximately.
All of these six commercial plots were earlier presented by CDA for auction in April 2012. Bidders have offered bids against three of six commercial plots, which were rejected by the CDA Board taking ground it was lower than the CDA’s reserved price. While bidders have refused to bid against three other commercial plots for high benchmark fixed by the Authority against them.
On May 3, 2012, CDA once again sought expression of interest from interested parties/firms for the auction of aforementioned six commercial plots.
On Friday, plot no. 11-A (CDA Old Enquiry Office) located Markaz F-10 and measuring 1000 square yards received highest bid of Rs361000 per square yard, while plot no. 1 (ex-Margalla Towers plot) in Markaz F-10 measuring 11750 square yards fetched highest bid of Rs141000 per square yard.
Similarly, plot no. 8-B in G-6/3 measuring 2500 square yards received highest bid of Rs164000 per square yard and plot no. 1 in F-8/G-8 measuring 2666.67 square yards received the bid of Rs297000 per square yard.
While on Thursday, the first day of two-day auction, CDA has received bids of Rs2.06 billion against two commercial plots. Collectively CDA has received bids worth Rs5.28 billion against these six commercial plots and if the bids were accepted by the CDA Board, the amount would provide a breathing space to cash-starved authority.
CDA Member Planning and Design Abdul Aziz Qureshi, who is also a member of auction committee, while commenting on the bids received by CDA said owing to recession in real estate market and overall economic crunch across the world the results were not comparable with the auctions held back in year 2005 when land market was at its best.
Qureshi said CDA received good bid against Plot No. 11-A (CDA Old Enquiry Office) in Markaz F-10 but result for ex-Margalla Towers plot is so-so.
CDA Member Finance Javed Jehangir while talking to The Nation said the time has proved that CDA Board’s earlier decision where it had rejected the bids against the aforementioned plots was correct.
He termed the auction results as satisfactory.
The ex-Margalla Towers plot is meant for the construction of residential apartments and a shopping mall. The plot was auctioned on as-is-where-is basis. Margalla Towers was the sole building in the federal capital whose one and a half of the three blocks were collapsed in destructive earthquake of 2005 claiming lives of 74 residents of the towers.
Earlier, during an auction in year 2009 a bidder has offered Rs1.35 billion against the plot and leftover structure but the CDA Board has turned down the bid taking ground that amount offered was lesser than the compensation paid by the Authority to victims.
The Auction Committee of the CDA, headed by the Member Finance of the Authority and comprising Member (Estate), Member (Planning & Design) and the directors of Directorates Public Relations, Estate Management-I, Estate Management-II and One Window Operation Directorates, supervised the auction process.
The recommendation of the auction committee would be submitted to the CDA Board, which is the final authority for approving or turning down any of the bids.