ISLAMABAD: Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has formulated trader friendly policies, which would not only help improve business and economic activities but would also provide employment opportunities to the people in the federal capital.
Mayor of Islamabad and Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman, Sheikh Anser Aziz expressed these views while talking to the media here on Monday at F-6 Markaz.
The mayor said that the MCI, with the help of its elected representatives, is committed to bringing the rural areas of the capital city at par with the urban areas, however, he said: “We are facing some difficulties as it is the first ever experience of a municipal system in Islamabad”.
“We are overcoming these difficulties and the municipal system of elected representatives would be fully functional to shape Islamabad into a beautiful city”, he remarked.
“We have improved the financial discipline of the authority and ensured good governance and transparency,” said Anser Aziz.
The mayor told the media that commercial plots had been auctioned by the past regimes without any provision of facilities due to which the traders’ community faced great difficulties including delay in construction on plots, increase in the cost of construction material and a very slow pace of business activities in the city.
He said that he had met the traders’ representatives, particularly with the representatives of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) in this regard and that in the light of the trader friendly policies, no commercial plots would be auctioned without the provision of facilities.
“We have received valuable suggestions from the traders’ community, which would help improve our policies”, said the mayor.
He also said that due to commercial friendly policies, this year the auction of commercial plots has broken all previous records, while the traders’ community actively participated in it. He indicated that billions of rupees of plots have been auctioned successfully in a very transparent manner.
The mayor declared that due to the consistent increase in population, he has directed the concerned formations of authority for the auction of more plots to overcome the future needs of the residents.
“We are successfully heading towards the solution of long-standing issues including the issues of extension in the lease period to the traders and construction of an additional storey, he said.
He also acknowledged that different types of national and international brands were introducing their businesses due to these new policies and that the MCI possesses the legal mandate of public-private partnership, under which several projects have been initiated.
Speaking on mega projects, he said that they will commence for the residents of Islamabad in the next few months under the public-private partnership.
