ISLAMABAD: Following federal auditors’ revelation that delays in the Nilor Heights Project deprived the Capital Development Authority (CDA) of envisaged benefits worth Rs14 billion, the civic agency has sought the federal government’s approval to complete the stalled housing scheme on its own.

Launched in 2021, the multibillion-rupee project aimed to build apartments on CDA’s land in Nilor within 24 months — by June 2023. The Naya Pakistan Housing and Development Authority (NPHDA) was supposed to procure the apartments for its members, but according to officials, CDA did not receive any financial support from NPHDA, resulting in the project’s suspension last year after completion of 60 grey structures.

CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa confirmed that the civic body had moved a summary to the federal government seeking approval to exclude NPHDA and finance the remaining work independently.
“Since the CDA has already spent billions of rupees on this project, we can’t leave it abandoned,” he said, adding that talks with the federal government were under way.

If approved, officials said, CDA could either complete and sell the apartments itself or auction the entire project as it stands.

An audit report released in August 2024 noted that completion within the original PC-I timeline could have generated Rs14 billion in revenue. It also pointed out that NPHDA’s failure to meet financial obligations caused the delay, and a departmental inquiry ordered in December 2024 remained unimplemented.

Under phase one, 2,400 apartments (each 779 sq ft) were constructed in 60 blocks, with finishing work pending. The second phase, intended for 1,876 larger apartments, was halted midway. The project, originally called Farash Town Apartments and later renamed Nilor Heights, has remained stalled for over a year.