ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA), through a Turkish company, has launched a project for cleanliness and garbage collection in the rural areas of Islamabad.

So far, the residents in the rural areas of the federal capital had no such facility.

“We are very happy that trained staffers with new equipment have started cleanliness work in our areas which were earlier completely ignored,” said Mahtab Ahmed, a resident of Bhara Kahu.

“Seeing uniformed sanitation workers picking garbage from my area gives us a good vibe,” he said and added that the service should be continued in future.

Service launched through Turkish company; residents urge CDA to ensure its continuity

“Starting service is good but the real challenge for the CDA will be to continue it with the same zeal. In the past, we saw government starting some project with positive note only to abandon it later on,” Farooq Ahmed, a resident of Khanapul said.

Sources in the CDA said on the direction of the interior minister, Chairman Sohail Ashraf and Member Environment Abdullah Khurram Niazi played the main role in launching the project.

It is relevant to note that both packages (urban and rural) had been won by the Turkish company. However, CDA had decided to engage the company in the rural areas (package II). Under the project, the company is supposed to carry out cleanliness work, collect waste and transport it to the transfer station in I-11 before it is shifted to the Losar landfill site in Rawalpindi. The company is bound to have 1,300 sanitation workers and 104 vehicles.

A CDA official said the civic agency would ensure segregation of waste at the transfer station, adding the civic agency was also planning to install a plant for recycling of the waste material, using plastic for making manhole covers.

He said Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi had been focusing on the project to provide the best cleanliness facilities to the residents of Islamabad.

The Turkish company has won the contract by submitting a bid worth around Rs18 billion for both urban and rural packages for a four-year term.

Sources said the worth of the rural area package was around Rs7.5 billion for four years while the urban area package would cost around Rs10 billion for four years. However, sources said the CDA management was seriously contemplating canceling the urban areas’ process and start it afresh at a later stage.

“Actually, our main target was rural areas, where there was no system in place. For the urban areas, there is no urgency as the CDA, through previous contractors and its own staff, is managing the affairs,” said a senior officer.

In the absence of any system, residents of rural areas had been forced to dump waste in open areas and nullahs. Therefore, the officials said, the company had been directed to start its operation in rural areas immediately without formal inauguration of the project.

“A mega inauguration was planned. But there was growing demand of residents to start the project as soon as possible; therefore, we decided to start the project before its inauguration. Meanwhile, we will inaugurate the project in coming weeks when complete machinery and vehicles will be available as per the contract agreement,” said the officer.

The CDA had opened the bids in July. During the technical evaluation, the CDA had disqualified the same Turkish company. However, the firm was qualified when it filed a grievance complaint with the civic agency asking it to review its decision.

Later, the bid of the Turkish company for both packages turned out to be lowest with a Rs380 million difference. However, second JV challenged CDA’s decision before PPRA, which after a few hearings decided the matter in favour of the CDA. Subsequently, work order was issued for rural areas.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2026