Capital Administrative Authority (CDA) plans to launch the Gandhara Triangle Project along the Grand Trunk Road to earn revenue that could be utilized for acquiring land in Zone 3. The federal commission will share the details of the project as they have been tasked with revising the master plan of Islamabad. The primary aim of the project is to collect revenue from the project and acquire land in zone 3 which is comprised of 51,000 acres with a total of 20,000 private lands.
The commission discussed several ways to acquire the land in Zone III and make new by-laws for Subzone D of Zone IV. Since CDA has been barred from acquiring land on compulsion or forced land acquisition, the commission decided that the locals can not sell their land on the open market. The locals should have the liberty to sell their land whenever they want. If they want to sell the land to CDA or a civic agency, they will be paid per the rates established by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). In addition, the land acquired from the locals will be added to the national park area.
Gandhara City is located near the new Islamabad International Airport and the M-1 (Islamabad – Peshawar Motorway). The triangle-shaped scheme comprises 74 acres of land and has the potential to generate billions of rupees. The scheme consists of five apartment towers, a mega shopping centre, plots for farmhouses and a well-equipped cinema. The project was under work for several years however, due to several market forces and administrative bottlenecks, it wasn’t launched earlier. Such a residential cum commercial development can help CDA achieve revenue levels to develop thousands of acres of land in Zone III and IV of Islamabad, contributing to the planned and developed area of the country.
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