ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Office has sought Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) point of view over a summary of health ministry seeking waiver of land cost for proposed Jinnah Medical Complex.

CDA in November asked the health ministry to arrange Rs19.7 billion funds to lease 600 kanal of land for the Jinnah Medical Complex to be built in Sector H-16. A few days ago, the civic agency in a letter to the health ministry offered a 33-year lease on 600 kanal for the medical complex. The lease is extendable for two terms of 33 years and the ministry has been asked to pay Rs19.7 billion for it.

Sources in CDA said that health ministry after receiving the letter of CDA had requested the civic agency to waive off the payment against land.

However, CDA informed the health ministry that as per prevailing policy and regulations, exemption/waiver corresponding to land cost to any organization is not covered as all the land is acquired by CDA and compensation is paid to those whose land had been acquired by CDA and they are entitled to get payment/plots from the CDA.

PM Office seeks CDA’s point of view over ministry’s summary

Therefore, CDA turned down the request of the health ministry. Subsequently, the health ministry through a summary took up this matter with Prime Minister Office, requesting for taking up this matter before the federal cabinet to grant waiver to ministry.

Sources said that in the summary, the health ministry pleaded that its overall public sector development programme funding for 2024-25 stands at Rs24.7 billion, therefore, paying the said amount in this fiscal year is not feasible for it.

However, before moving forward, the PM office through ministry of interior sought comments of CDA on summary of health ministry.

“In our rules and regulations, there is no provision of free land as we procure land from land owners and we had shared same views with the health ministry,” said an officer of CDA.

He said when CDA refused to health ministry, they took up this matter with federal government to place their summary before the federal cabinet.

“In coming days, we will share our view points on this summary, right know, I can’t say what would be our stance, but one thing is clear that we have to pay to land owners against the acquired land,” said an officer.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Jinnah Medical Complex was performed by the prime minister on July 21, 2024. The multi-billion medical complex is funded by the federal government and executed by the CDA.

According to the Planning Commission, the project will be completed with an estimated cost of Rs120 billion.

The government has allocated Rs5 billion for the fiscal year 2024-2025 under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to kickstart the project. However, it is also looking at other options such as public-private partnerships to get this project completed.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, while chairing a meeting on the project some months ago, had highlighted that the project’s location in Islamabad, near the airport and national highways, made it an ideal hub for regional and international medical tourism.

Mr Iqbal had said that the complex must incorporate green design principles, ensuring that it stood as a sustainable and environmentally friendly structure. The health complex was envisioned as a monumental project for the capital, featuring a self-contained vertical health tower with comprehensive medical services, he had added.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2025