PM orders probe into Nilore Heights project in Islamabad

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry into the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for launching the Nilore Heights project for overseas Pakistanis without addressing its shortcomings.

The CDA, in collaboration with the Naya Pakistan Housing Development Authority (NPHDA), launched the housing scheme in 2021. The CDA allocated its own land and funds for the project.

However, it was later decided to sell 2,000 apartments exclusively to overseas Pakistanis. Prior to this decision, the NPHDA had already allotted a number of apartments to lower-income segments of society.

When the CDA decided to sell the apartments exclusively to expatriates, the current government provided full support to boost foreign exchange reserves. The cost of a two-bedroom apartment was set at $30,000.

The project faced a setback when a case was filed in the Islamabad High Court challenging the CDA’s planned balloting for selling the flats to overseas Pakistanis. As a result, the balloting scheduled for May 16 was postponed.

According to sources, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed dissatisfaction with the CDA’s failure to address the project’s shortcomings before its launch. The sources mentioned that the prime minister questioned why the project was launched when the NPHDA had already allotted flats to locals.

CDA Chairman Noorul Amin Mengal, in response, stated that the decisions were made before he assumed his position as the chief of the civic body.

Prime Minister Sharif emphasized that if the new chairman was unaware of these developments, it was the responsibility of other officers to inform him. He ordered an inquiry and directed his aide Ahad Cheema to form an inquiry committee for this purpose.

Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, present at the meeting, also expressed concerns regarding the CDA.

Meanwhile, the housing project for overseas Pakistanis received a significant response, with approximately 7,000 applications submitted by expatriates for the 2,000 apartments in the first phase of the project.

The balloting, initially scheduled for May 16, could not take place due to the ongoing litigation.

In the first phase, the CDA decided to sell 2,000 apartments, and in the upcoming second phase, the civic agency plans to offer around 2,400 apartments for sale.

Initially named “Farash Town” apartment scheme in 2021, the project was later renamed Nilore Heights. The CDA had also decided to approach the federal government to dissociate the NPHDA from the project as it had not shared the project’s cost with the CDA.