PDA allows high-rise buildings construction

PESHAWAR: The Board of the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) on Tuesday allowed the construction of high-rise buildings in its territorial jurisdiction.

The approval was given in the 3rd board meeting of PDA held chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan , said an official handout. Besides Provincial Minister for Finance Taimur Salim Jhagra, Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Local Government Kamran Bangash, Advisor on Information Ajmal Wazir, administrative secretaries of Local Government, Finance, Environment and Planning departments and other relevant officials attended the meeting.

Construction of buildings with over 10 stories would be permitted with the addition of the new clause in the existing PDA by-laws. It merits a mention here that construction of buildings with more than 10 stories is not allowed under the existing PDA by-laws. The approval of a change in the by-laws was required for allowing the construction of high-rise buildings in view of the growing urbanization in the provincial capital and to contain the increasing consumption of agricultural land for construction purpose. Addressing the participants of the meeting, the chief minister termed the construction of high-rise buildings as the need of the hour to cater to the increasing needs of fast growing urbanization in the city. He hoped the permission for high-rise buildings would attract more investment in the real estate sector. Mahmood Khan directed the officials concerned for necessary steps to devise a comprehensive mechanism to regulate the construction of such buildings. The meeting also approved the handover of the proposed Peshawar Model Housing Scheme from the Provincial Housing Authority to PDA for execution and implementation. It was told that the proposed housing scheme would be developed on more than 100,000 Kanal of land at Jalozai in Peshawar.