ISLAMABAD: The United States Embassy has approached the Capital Development Authority (CDA) through the Foreign Office seeking a completion certificate for its compound.

Completion certificates are issued after a full inspection of a building, its fire safety and emergency arrangements, the implementation of its building plan and its structural stability, CDA official said.

These certificates are also known as occupancy certificates, without which a building cannot be occupied by its owners.

In a letter dated May 8, the embassy asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to forward revised application forms and documents, as well as four sets of drawings, for the completion and occupancy permit to the CDA as required by its regulations.

It added: “You are aware that the Government of United States of America was granted permission by the CDA to reconstruct the embassy compound at the existing locations to conform to the newest U.S and international codes of practice and security considerations vide their letter….dated January 10, 2012.”

The letter was forwarded to the CDA through a covering letter from the Foreign Office dated July 24.

Building control director says CDA is processing the application

CDA Director Building Control Faisal Naeem confirmed that they received the US embassy’s request for a completion certificate a few days ago and are processing it.

The embassy has been in the news for some time, and a few months ago became the subject of a Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) inquiry against the CDA regarding allegedly irregular approval of its building plans.

The FIA had directed the CDA to provide case records in an official letter dated March 22. The letter had said the inquiry was initiated at the direction of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

In 2017, in response to a calling attention notice moved by Senator Hafiz Hamdullah, then state minister for capital administration and development division – which used to be the CDA’s parent ministry – Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told the Senate that the embassy’s eight-storey building was completed with CDA approval.

He told the Senate approved ground-plus-seven storeys for the US embassy, and extended similar approval to the Bangladesh High Commission.

Senator Hamdullah had moved the notice following an auditor general report that said construction began on the US embassy without the prime minister’s approval, and the CDA did not halt the process.

He said he had raised the issue with the prime minister’s permission.

The senator also cited an audit report that claimed that in 2012, a spy agency had said the roof of the building could be used to install surveillance devices to monitor government offices.

Dr Chaudhry told Senate that intelligence agencies and the Foreign Office were consulted, and they told the CDA there was no sign of surveillance equipment installed on the building.

In addition to the US embassy, various others, including the embassies of the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Canada, the Vatican, Saudi Arabia and Iran, have also occupied their buildings without completion certificates.

A CDA official said the Turkish embassy has applied for a certificate as well.

He said the CDA wrote to all these embassies in April through the Foreign Office.

Sources said the Foreign Office sent back the letters to the CDA, asking for the complete details on the embassies.

An official in the CDA said: “The Foreign Office has sent back the letter seeking some more information. We will provide them the required information soon so they can send our letters to the embassies in question.”

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2019