SIFC Wants to Replace Govt Houses With High-Rise Buildings in Islamabad

The Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) wants to replace Islamabad’s single-storey government houses with high-rise buildings to generate billions of rupees in revenue. It has proposed target areas like sectors F-6, G-6, and G-7, where vast state-owned land is occupied by single-storey houses allocated to federal secretaries and other bureaucrats, reported Dawn. A recent study by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) revealed that in the G-6/1 sub-sector alone, 86 acres are underutilized by government housing. Vertical construction could reduce this to nine acres and free over Rs. 52 billion. Using this study as reference, the SIFC recently sent an official letter to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) seeking input on the plan. The SIFC’s letter urged a shift toward vertical development, similar to approaches in the UK and India, to unlock the economic potential of underutilized urban land. The CDA’s response is expected to influence further steps in the proposal. SIFC wants high-rise property development in the federal capital in line with international urban planning practices.