ISLAMABAD: The Federal Government Employees Housing Authority (FGEHA) board has reversed its earlier decision and approved the sale of plots for a hotel and an international hospital in Islamabad’s G-13 Sector through a public-private partnership. The board also plans to sell 10 other plots using this method.
As per the newspaper report, according to the minutes of the 40th FGEHA meeting on May 9—chaired by Housing Minister Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada—the board canceled its previous decision from the 37th meeting on December 5, which had approved selling the hotel and hospital plots through an open auction. The board now permits both open auction and public-private partnership as options for these plots.
FGEHA officials stated during the meeting that, following the Prime Minister’s instructions and in coordination with the Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A), they are exploring long-term investment options, including a hotel in G-13’s Mauve Area and other commercial properties.
After several meetings with P3A, two models for the hotel project—public-private partnership and lease-and-operate—were presented to the board, which then approved adding the public-private partnership option.
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The board was also told that FGEHA has identified 11 other plots for public-private partnership, including an IT tower and an international offices hub/banks in G-13, a shopping mall in Sky Line Project Islamabad, an apartment complex in Sky Garden Rawalpindi, commercial and apartment plots in G-13/4 and Chaklala Scheme Rawalpindi, an international school in G-14/2, a high-rise tower in Cantt Station Karachi, and Constantia Lodge on Kashmir Road, Murree. The board noted that the Murree property’s sale depends on resolving an ongoing dispute.
The Murree property, located in a key area, was owned by a Hindu and Sikh family before partition. After partition, it was taken over by the Evacuee Trust Property Board and later leased to the Brazilian embassy.
In 1999, after the embassy vacated, the property was transferred to the Public Works Department under the Ministry of Housing. However, the ministry has not yet gained possession due to legal disputes, as the caretaker claims their family has lived there for over 100 years.
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Additionally, To reduce traffic and improve connectivity, city authorities have decided to add a new lane to the two-lane Srinagar Highway from Jinnah Square (Serena Interchange) to Murree Road.
This decision comes as the Murree Road underpass is nearly finished, with its official opening scheduled for May 22, 2025.
Last week, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) issued tenders worth Rs1 billion for road widening and improvement work around Jinnah Square.
The underpass at the junction of Murree Road and Srinagar Highway is also under construction and almost complete. Sources say about 80% of the project is done, with final work to be completed soon.
