ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has sealed the under-construction multi-storey Grant Hayat Hotel for various building and layout plan violations.

A team from the CDA’s building control department supervised by its director, Shafi Marwat, sealed the construction site on Friday. The building, which will house a five star hotel and 200 residential apartments, is being built by the BNP Group.

Mr Marwat told Dawn that 121 apartments were being built, while 60 apartments had been approved. He said the builders have also sold service apartments in the market without the CDA’s approval. The director said work on the hotel tower, which is an integral part of the project, has not begun yet which is also a violation of the agreement.

Now that the building has been sealed, he said the project owner will have to justify his position and the grounds on which the service apartments were sold that were not on sale. “He committed several other violations,” Mr Marwat added.

A couple of years ago, the interior ministry had proposed scrapping the project entirely due to security concerns.

A report by the CDA that was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in January 2015 stated that the under-construction 23 storey building for a hotel and apartments near the Convention Centre posed a security threat to diplomatic missions and government buildings along Constitution Avenue.

The CDA’s report said: “The Ministry of Interior has raised serious security concerns on the location of the building and proposed that either the project be abandoned or converted into a government building.”

According to CDA officials, the building was termed a security risk because of its proximity to the Diplomatic Enclave, Prime Minister House, President House and Parliament House.

According to the CDA’s documents, on Mar 9, 2005, the CDA auctioned a 13.5 acre plot on Constitution Avenue to the BNP Group for Rs4.88 billion.

Initially, the building was allowed to be up to 718 feet tall, but its height was reduced to 300 feet after objections were raised by the Civil Aviation Authority. By December 2014, the BNP had paid Rs1.02 billion, while the remaining Rs3.85 billion is recoverable until 2026 in equal instalments.

On directions from the PAC, the CDA referred a matter related to rescheduling and slow recovery of the amount to the Federal Investigation Agency and the National Accountability Bureau, both of which are investigating the matter.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2016