The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) has proposed replacing Islamabad’s single-storey government houses with high-rise buildings in a bid to generate billions of rupees in revenue. Targeting areas like sectors F-6, G-6, and G-7, where large tracts of state-owned land are currently occupied by single-storey houses allocated to federal secretaries and bureaucrats, the plan aims to maximize the use of underutilized land.
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A study by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) highlighted that in the G-6/1 sub-sector alone, 86 acres of land are underutilized due to the single-storey government housing. Vertical construction could reduce this land usage to just nine acres, potentially freeing up over Rs. 52 billion in value. The SIFC has used this study to push forward the proposal, sending an official letter to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to seek input on the plan.
The SIFC’s letter advocates for vertical development, drawing on models from the UK and India, to tap into the economic potential of underutilized urban land. The CDA’s response to the proposal will play a crucial role in shaping the next steps for the initiative, which aligns with international urban planning practices for more efficient land use.
