Islamabad: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) approved the Islamabad model prison on December 21, six years after the project was conceived.
According to a news source, the CDWP approved a building cost of PKR 4.5 billion, but construction cannot begin until July 2016 as the project will be funded by the 2016/17 federal development budget.
The prison site is near the M-2 Motorway toll plaza and is close to Jhangi Syedan Village. The executing agency will be the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration and construction will be undertaken by the Public Works Department (PWD). The prison will house 2,000 inmates including women, men, and juveniles.
The prison will also contain a National Academy for Prisons Administration, a school for boys and girls, vocational facilities, a masjid, prayer hall for people of other religions, post office, banks, shops, and other facilities.
The model prison was conceived in 2009 and planned to be completed by 2013. Yet, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) allegedly mismanaged the land acquisition process.
Now, however, it seems like the project is headed in the right direction. According to CDA Member Administration Amir Ahmed Ali, land acquisition was completed in November 2014 and 720 kanals acquired near H-16. For this land, transferred to the ICT administration for construction of the prison, the CDA paid PKR 670 million to local landowners.
An ICT administration official said there was great need for this new prison closer to the court area. The distance between Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and the courts increases the risk of transporting high-profile prisoners for court appearances.
