Malik Aslam c.o.o Capital Smart City Interview Part 2
Below is the transcription of the interview by Rizwan Cheema (CEO Makaan Solutions) with Mr. Malik Aslam (COO Capital Smart City). The content is transcribed from the interview respectively. The views and content do not represent Makaan Solutions.
Any Type Of Query
Makaan Solutions have transcribed the interview of Mr. Malik Aslam (COO Capital Smart City) in question and the answer form as under.
How will the management of Capital Smart City facilitate those members who booked their plots in 2018 and started their construction work?
There are two things here. First is the environment that residents need when they reside inside a society. We made the environment of the society ready. Like our school is ready and we will onboard students from April. One 10 beds clinic is ready and is operational 24/7. Another 10-beds clinic and 50-beds hospital is under construction. Shops, grocery shops, and saloons are under construction. Linear Parks 1,2,3,4 are ready for use. So the environment that is needed for living is already ready and those developments that are under construction will become ready within 3-4 months. The second thing is the backup support or services that Capital Smart City provides. We are committed to providing those services. Like WAPDA collection is there and transformers are ready usage. As an alternative for a gas pipeline, we will provide gas slanders for residents.
Our NOC for gas has been approved and will soon start working on that. Internet and telephone services are also available in society. We are committed to providing all these facilities for those people who will come for living in 2022. Security is another important aspect that we focus on a lot. Currently, we have 3 levels of security. First is the security of our mines, assets, and staff. Second is our gate security which is handled by Punjab rangers. The third level of security will be provided for each district within the society when the districts are developed.
The next important point you have mentioned is facilitating or supporting the investors when they start their construction work. For that purpose, we have announced sector-wise support. For instance, the first 25 investors will be provided with free design (each design costs Rs 500,000-60,000). We have got these villas designs from Dubai and will provide those designs free of cost with modification as per the requirements. Besides this, 25% development charges will also be waived on a first come first basis.
There is no other housing society in Pakistan that has allotted areas for international hospitals, top-ranked universities like GIKI and NDU. Why HRL has focused too much on allotting areas for health and education facilities and promoting this vision?
Self-sustainability is very important. Health and education are important for the self-sustainability of a society and a country. Importantly, the hospitals and universities that we have allotted specific areas for them are not just for our residents nor the whole of Pakistan, but it is for this region. Like NUTECH University is planning to build a university for almost 30,000 students. 20% of these students will be foreigners mostly Sri Lankan, Maldives, Saudi Arabians, UAE nationals, and from other counties. In Health District the Harley Street hospital does not focus on Pakistan rather the Middle East, UAE, and other countries. The doctors from Harley Street London will come on visits to Pakistan and about 10 doctors will be present in Pakistan any time. One of the weak sides of the health sector in Pakistan is post-operation services. The post-operation services are weak because we lack trained nursing staff. Therefore, all the nursing staff in Harley clinic will be from the UK and some Pakistani nurses will be sent to London for training. Same as the education sector, the focus of Harley Street is also not only Pakistan but the whole region. Therefore, if forirgeners come for their treatment, we have the facility of providing them with 4 star and 5-star hotels. There is a specific motto behind providing all these facilities and the motto is to enhance the economic growth of this region.
When will the gate of the Capital Smart City be completed?
There is a difference between us and other developers. When we launched Royal Orchard in Multan five years ago, people usually asked the same questions. They believe we were doing reverse engineering. Other societies construct gates and short-distance roads and then wait, but we first build construction inside society and then build the gates. Meanwhile, Surbana Jurong has designed us a gate which is a beautifully designed and most modern gate. It will be constructed in the access point of the Overseas Prime District. We will also construct its replica on the motorway access point. Meanwhile, its roads are constructed, islands are constructed and design implementation will start after three months.
The society has done too much branding and advertisements for One Capital Apartments, when it is expected to start?
The design is done and it is a Spanish design. In fact, they are not just apartment buildings rather it is a project itself. It is a complete project that will have 1,780 apartments, 250 will be service apartments. It will also include a block of 25,000 desk offices. Moreover, it will include a gym, club, shopping area, and school. It means the residents will be provided with all the facilities they need. In the One Capital Apartments, the residents can rent an apartment for one day, one week, and one month. The same, the workspace which is available there can be hired for one hour, one day, one week, etc. To summarize, it is a complete project itself and hopefully, we will sell it this year. Since it is in Overseas East, its sale will start in the UK.
Do One Capital Apartments have a direct or indirect link with Bursa Downtown Turkey?
We are going to Turkey with a group of people. Hopefully, we will have possible links with the Bursa Downtown Turkey.
Overseas East is the most fast-developed district of the society where more than 800 villas are under construction. When will the possession of Overseas East F block be ready?
In Overseas East District our two sectors became affected. There are some reasons that I could mention here. Like, before we apply for the motorway interchange, as per the rules the distance for an interchange was 5km but when we applied it was 10km. At the start, according to our planning for the motorway interchange, the distance for the interchange was around 7km, but after the interchange approval, it is around 10.7km now. Because of this change, sectors L and F have been affected. At the start the interchange was crossing through sector F therefore we made it small, but now we plan to make it larger and enhance its land. Sector L will hit the new motorway interchange and it will become a crossing point (400ft road will cross it). To avoid traffic crowds in the future we will design Sector L and plan it smartly. We have shifted Sector L to a more important location than before. When we reveal its location, everyone will love to have it.
What is your take on the possession of Sectors G and H which is available on paper, but the development is not feasible there?
The development is going on in Sectors G and H, and even the development of Sector I commercials are also started. Investors are allowed to build their homes where development is started. In these sectors, the rarthwork is done, sewerage work and water supply have also started.
PCB wants to build a cricket stadium in Islamabad, will Capital Smart City reserve them land in its Sports District or facilitate PCB in this regard?
We do not want to engage in politics. It is a private society so we do not wish that a government department should invest or engage here. We feel relax with the army and we gave areas to universities like NUTECH, NDU, GIKI, which are controlled by the army. We gave them land with less cost. Our Sports District will be purely private and we are working on MOUs in London with two cricket clubs. We are also in negotiations with Chelsea Football Club. We have FIFA standard football ground therefore we are also in negotiations with Global Soccer Ventures.
Can we expect the inauguration ceremony of NUTECH University in 2022?
I hope within 2-3 months it will happen. Hopefully, COAS General Qamar Javid Bajwa will join the inauguration ceremony of NUTECH University.
When is the possession of Overseas Prime district expected?
We will start its balloting in May 2022, and immediately after balloting we will start its possession. Till the last quarter of 2022, we will complete its possession and people can start their construction. In fact, we have started the construction of those villas that we are going to sell to end-users.
When is the possession of Harmony Park Overseas District expected?
It will hopefully start in the first quarter of 2023.
What are La Mer and its impact on the Capital Smart City?
La Mer is a recreational area, not a residential area. However, we will have a working environment there. Like it has an Islamabad design district, it will include fashion designers, furniture designers, boutiques, and shops. It will also include outlets from Italy and Pakistani’s famous outlets. We also allocated an area for a builder mall that will have 250 outlets of construction material display. One block will be allocated for Chinese brands another one for Pakistani local brands and the third one for Turkish brands. The La Mer will also include the Forest Wheel and replica of the Eiffel Tower. It is expected that before the end of 2022, some outlets will be there. The construction of its car parking has started. Many companies have designed the master plan of La Mer. First is La Mer itself, second is an Australian company, and third is a Singaporean and Chinese company. La Mer has a 1.7km waterfront of Chahan Dam, it will have a beach and floating restaurants. To conclude, it will be a resort and entertainment area.
Is it a fact that Capital Smart City will provide international brands with rental free outlets for a certain time?
This is not a fact. On our visit to the UK last year, we have announced that the Lakeview Heights shops on the ground floor will be free for international brands for the first two years. They will only pay electricity and services bills. It is a sort of encouragement we provide for the international brands to come to Pakistan and invest here without major issues like rents, security allowance, etc.
Will the Capital Smart City leadership build another smart city in Pakistan?
We have the target of building 10 smart cities in Pakistan. We plan it in Peshawar, Multan, Hyderabad, Karachi, and Gawadar. Since Faisalabad is near Lahore therefore we do not have serious planning there. However, we plan to purchase some land for Royal Orchard and launch it there. Royal Orchard is also a smart city concept. We do not call it a smart city, but it has all the features of a smart city.
