ISLAMABAD: In order to resolve Islamabad’s parking woes, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to start construction work on at least five parking plazas in major business centres of the federal capital by the end of this fiscal year, said CDA Chairman Mohammad Usman on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters in his maiden interaction, the civic body chief, who also holds the portfolio of chief commissioner, said the work on these buildings would start before the end of the current fiscal year in June. He added that directives have already been issued to the engineering wing in this regard.

Mr Usman said the construction work on a parking plaza near Savour Foods in Blue Area was already in motion and would be completed in its stipulated time. Last year, the CDA decided to construct six parking spaces across the city with a capacity to accommodate 3,500 vehicles.

According to the plan, three plazas are supposed to be built in Blue Area – one is already in progress – whereas two parking facilities will be constructed in F-10 Markaz. In order to ease traffic congestion in F-8, which houses district courts, a parking plaza will be constructed.

Says five multi-storey plazas in F-8, F-10 and Blue Area to accommodate 3,500 vehicles

The CDA documents which were presented to the board last year stated that the project would cost Rs35.8 million. Earlier, the civic body had built an underground car park in Jinnah Super Market some years ago, but that project did not achieve the desired results, as people took no interest in parking their vehicles in underground parking.

However, the new CDA chairman has a solution. He said the drivers would face legal action in case of illegal parking on the streets.

According to a source, the chairman should take action against the violation of building bylaws in Islamabad as many markets and plazas, including residential buildings, have been using their basement for commercial purposes instead of parking.

Mr Usman, while talking about metro buses and other development projects, said in the next couple of months, the CDA would try to ply feeder buses on various routes. To a query, Mr Usman said the Bhara Kahu bypass, a “priority project”, would be completed before the four-month deadline.

Talking about Islamabad’s missing landfill site, Mr Usman said the civic body had been working to find out a permanent solution to this problem, adding that a regional landfill site would be developed jointly by Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Chakwal, and Jhelum.

The chief commissioner, who had also served as director general of the Punjab Food Authority in past, said that a Punjab-like authority would be set up in Islamabad. He said that a law in this regard had already been passed and the authority would be established soon.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2022