Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has announced plans to auction large plots in Islamabad for high-rise hotels, shopping malls and residential complexes, with investors paying for the land through a share of their projects’ inventory rather than an upfront payment.
Speaking at the Saudi-Pak Real Estate Expo in Lahore on Friday, Naqvi said the auction would start at 15% of a project’s inventory, with investors allowed to offer a higher share. The plots would measure one, three or six acres, and buildings would have to reach a minimum height of 600 feet.
Naqvi said investors would be required to complete their projects within two years of approval. The Ministry of Interior would handle approvals through a one-window operation, with the process expected to take three to four weeks.
To address investors’ concerns, the government plans to establish a five-member auction committee comprising representatives of the National Accountability Bureau, Special Investment Facilitation Council and Federal Investigation Agency, along with the Capital Development Authority and a judge.
The government has yet to decide whether the judge would be serving or retired. Naqvi also announced plans to develop a Manhattan-style city on 1,000 acres behind the Prime Minister’s House, featuring residential and commercial complexes around a central park and lake.
The project would operate under a separate set of laws, rules and standard operating procedures. Additionally, the government plans to build a 450-acre safari park in Islamabad, which Naqvi described as potentially Asia’s largest.
He said the proposed developments aimed to attract foreign investment, particularly from Saudi Arabia, while expanding Islamabad’s residential and recreational facilities.
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