Islamabad jail: Initial cost of Rs3.9bn revised to Rs7bn

Committee decides to summon planning minister to address funding gaps and remove obstacles hindering progress

By Asim Yasin
December 18, 2024
Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works Senator Nasir Mahmood presides over a meeting at Parliament Lodges on December 17, 2024. — APP
Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works Senator Nasir Mahmood presides over a meeting at Parliament Lodges on December 17, 2024. — APP

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Committee on Housing and Works was informed on Tuesday that the initial PC-1 cost of Rs3.9 billion for the Islamabad Jail had been revised to Rs7.4 billion, with Rs3.75 billion already allocated for the construction.

It was reported to the committee that 70–80% of the admin block had been completed, while an additional Rs3.64 billion were required to finalize Phase II of the project and the jail construction was expected to be completed by January 31, 2025. Nasir Mehmood chaired the meeting held at the Parliament House.

The member engineering from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) provided an update on the project. Expressing concern over delays, Nasir reminded the committee that the CDA chairman had previously pledged to complete the project by December 2024. The committee decided to summon the planning minister to address funding gaps and remove obstacles hindering the progress. The chief engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) said all issues within their jurisdiction had been resolved. The chairman directed that all correspondence between the PWD and the CDA be shared with the committee and recommended inviting representatives from the Ministry of Interior to the next meeting.

The committee reviewed an application submitted by Director Abdul Sattar for payment of the final bill concerning the establishment of the 200-bed Centre of Excellence for Gynecology and Obstetrics in Rawalpindi. The committee got a briefing on the directions issued on October 29, 2024 regarding the journalist quota/plots in FGEHA schemes. The poor condition of the Qasr-e-Naz in Karachi was brought to the committee’s attention. It was noted that not only one but six properties required inspection. The committee unanimously decided to conduct an on-site visit to the Qasr-e-Naz to gain a better understanding of its condition.

The meeting was attended by Khalida Ateeb, Saifullah Abro, Saifullah Sarwar, Bilal Ahmed, Husna Bano, Hidayatullah Khan, Aslam Abro, the minister of housing and works, the secretary of housing and works and other officials.