ISLAMABAD: The Aga Khan University (AKU) Karachi will assist the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in selecting local consultants for designing and construction of Jinnah Medical Complex (JMC), a meeting was informed here on Tuesday.

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal chaired the meeting. CDA has already floated an expression of interest (EOI) for hiring local consultants. The meeting was also told that the master plan and PC-II of the project had been approved. JMC will be set up in H-16. A project of the health ministry, it will be executed by CDA.

According to the planning commission, the tentative cost of the project is more than Rs120 billion. For fiscal year 2024-25, the government has allocated Rs5 billion to start the project. The groundbreaking ceremony was performed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on July 21 last year.

Minister Ahsan Iqbal directed CDA officials to ensure the consultants’ work meets international standards, stressing that there should be no compromise on quality.

He directed that the design of the JMC should be finalised at the earliest, ensuring the project aligns with modern standards and emerges as a state-of-the-art facility.

According to a press release issued by the planning ministry, on the prime minister’s instructions, the minister for planning, the ministry of finance and the CDA chairman were tasked with consulting the chairman of Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) to explore the possibility of involving it in the commercial aspect of the project.

Officials from the health ministry told the meeting that an initial consultation with the chairman of EOBI had taken place where both the parties agreed to first conduct a feasibility study of the project. The consultants, to be hired by CDA with the help of the AKU, will be responsible for preparing detailed engineering designs, bill of quantities (BoQ), project supervision and quality control.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2025