Bhushan
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US embassy offered less land at higher rate
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to reduce drastically the size of land to be sold to the US embassy and sharply increase the price, Dawn has learnt reliably.
The embassy was initially offered 18.5 acres of land by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) at a price of Rs15,000 per square yard. Now the size of land has been reduced to 8.5 acres and the embassy will have to pay about Rs85,000 ($1,000) per sq yd.
Sources said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani decided recently that all foreign missions seeking to purchase land in the diplomatic enclave would be paying $1,000 per sq yd.
When contacted, Chairman of CDA Imtiaz Inayat Elahi confirmed that negotiations were under way for the sale of 8.5 acres of land to the US embassy.
A senior CDA official told Dawn on Wednesday that an offer letter had been sent to the embassy for the proposed sale. The CDA will get an amount of $41 million if the offer is accepted by the embassy, he said.The official pointed out that before the initial offer was made to the US embassy, the CDAs finance wing had conveyed its reservations to its board, saying India and Sri Lanka followed a policy under which land was sold to foreign missions at between $800 and $1,000 per sq yd.
Subsequently, he said, the CDA requested the Foreign Office, which was in contact with the US embassy over the issue, to increase the price of land from Rs15,000 to Rs80,000 per sq yd. However, the embassy was offered land at the old price in one of the most secure areas of Islamabad.
The official added that the embassy wanted to acquire more land to expand the mission. The expansion would be catering to the needs of Pakistani staff working for the embassy.
On August 19 last year, US Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale was quoted as saying that the proposed expansion reflected Washingtons desire to improve relations with Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to reduce drastically the size of land to be sold to the US embassy and sharply increase the price, Dawn has learnt reliably.
The embassy was initially offered 18.5 acres of land by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) at a price of Rs15,000 per square yard. Now the size of land has been reduced to 8.5 acres and the embassy will have to pay about Rs85,000 ($1,000) per sq yd.
Sources said that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani decided recently that all foreign missions seeking to purchase land in the diplomatic enclave would be paying $1,000 per sq yd.
When contacted, Chairman of CDA Imtiaz Inayat Elahi confirmed that negotiations were under way for the sale of 8.5 acres of land to the US embassy.
A senior CDA official told Dawn on Wednesday that an offer letter had been sent to the embassy for the proposed sale. The CDA will get an amount of $41 million if the offer is accepted by the embassy, he said.The official pointed out that before the initial offer was made to the US embassy, the CDAs finance wing had conveyed its reservations to its board, saying India and Sri Lanka followed a policy under which land was sold to foreign missions at between $800 and $1,000 per sq yd.
Subsequently, he said, the CDA requested the Foreign Office, which was in contact with the US embassy over the issue, to increase the price of land from Rs15,000 to Rs80,000 per sq yd. However, the embassy was offered land at the old price in one of the most secure areas of Islamabad.
The official added that the embassy wanted to acquire more land to expand the mission. The expansion would be catering to the needs of Pakistani staff working for the embassy.
On August 19 last year, US Under-Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Judith McHale was quoted as saying that the proposed expansion reflected Washingtons desire to improve relations with Pakistan.
not a big deal
