ISLAMABAD: After spending more than a decade in a rented facility in G-9 sector, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) has finally started to shift to a purpose-built office in the PM’s Health Complex in Chak Shahzad, with the move expected to take three weeks to complete.

Drap Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Asim Rauf said that the new facility was powered entirely by solar energy and that the shifting would be completed from TF Complex, Sector G-9, by April 18.

“It is a purpose-built four-storey iconic building which will house the Federal Drug Surveillance Laboratory (FDSL) and the National Control Laboratory for Biologicals (NCLB) labs on one floor whereas other three storeys will be used by the Drap,” he said.

“We have been anticipating that in coming years the number of Drap employees will be a few thousand from 700 employees at present, so it will be sufficient for us,” he said, adding that the World Health Organisation (WHO) also considered purpose-built infrastructures as “a preferable situation”. Replying to a question, Dr Rauf said that entry and exit of the people would be controlled in the new building to ensure transparency.

Four-storey building to house ‘Federal Drug Surveillance Laboratory’, ‘National Control Laboratory for Biologicals’ as well

“Representatives of the pharma companies and other visitors will remain in a separate area which will be designated for them and the Drap officials will go there to meet them instead of calling them to their offices. It will ensure the transparency and avoid chances of any irregularities,” he said.

The building was inaugurated by the health secretary, who commended the eco-friendly initiative and stressed the importance of environmentally conscious practices in all aspects of development.

It is worth mentioning that after 18th Constitutional Amendment, the health sector became a provincial subject in 2010 and the Drug Registration Board became defunct. A registration board was established again under the Drap Act 2012. Drap started working in different offices; some were in C Block of the Pak Secretariat, where only ministries are allowed to have offices, so the Drap management was under immense pressure to vacate the premises. Some offices of the authority were in a rented building in the Blue Area.

In 2013, it was decided that a building should be leased to shift all offices to one place. A building spread over 30,000 square feet was rented for Rs4.6 million monthly rent in Sector G-9, which increased over the years.

Amid criticism that the rent was too high, then health minister Saira Afzal Tarar in July 2014 said that the process to acquire 20 kanal of land was started and Drap would be shifted to its building within two years. However, even the foundation stone could not be laid during her tenure.

During the PTI government, then health minister Aamir Mehmood Kiani also announced the construction of this building but the foundation stone of this office was finally laid in 2020 by then PM’s health aide Dr Zafar Mirza. It was announced that the purpose-built building would cost around Rs1 billion.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2024