ISLAMABAD: The city managers are preparing to approve some long awaited building plans of skyscrapers on plots situated in Blue Area, which were delayed as the civic body and builders had a clash over a parking space ration with respect to the total covered area. The Design Vetting Committee (DVC) of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is secluded to meet this coming Friday, which will be chaired by Member Planning of the CDA, Asad Mehboob Kiani. The meeting will review a total of nine building plans including three proposed plans of skyscrapers on plots no B2, B3 and C3 of Blue Area. The said building plans had been pending before the civic body for the last four to five years as the city managers were involved in some conflicts with the owners of the said plots over the ratio of the car parking space. The owners wants to deviate from the terms of their allotment letters by seeking the approval of a building plan with one car parking space against each 1000 square feet covered area instead of original one car parking space against each 500 square feet. A well informed real estate consultant while explaining the situation said: “If the Authority will allow car parking space with a ratio of 1000 square feet than it will need post bid changes in pre-determined planning parameter whereas if the Authority will not change the terms than it will impossible for builders to construct five to six basements for car parking, which are required according to the ratio of one car parking against each 500 square feet. However, the Member Planning of the CDA Asad Mehboob Kiani said: “We will scrutinise the building plans as per their allotment letters and no special concision would be granted to anyone while approving their building plans.” The President, Islamabad Builders Association (IBA) has criticised the civic body and said: “These are the only six plots with a ratio of one car parking for each 500 square feet as all previous and recent plots other than these have been allotted with the requirement of one car parking space against each 1000 square feet.” He said further: “In my view, it is a clerical mistake and the Authority should give approval of these building plans because the investments of billions have been struck for the last five years.” On the other side, the source inside the CDA claimed that the purchasers of these plots were well aware about the parking space requirement and now they wanted to seek an extra benefit which is impossible as post bid changes cannot be granted even with the board’s approval. The regime under the headship of Chairman CDA and Mayor of Islamabad Shaikh Ansar Aziz is already being criticised because of its tilt towards investors and builders, but it is a fact that a single unwise decision of today would cost heavily for the future. It was earlier highlighted by Daily Times that the civic body was working in the absence of a parking space requirement regulations as there is no thumb rule for parking requirement in the city to get approval of the building plan for commercial and mixed use i.e. plazas, hotels, restaurants and skyscrapers. Unfortunately, by comparing the parking requirement in Islamabad with official requirements of the three biggest cities of the world; The Houston, a city of Texas, Utah, a city in the Western United States and the London City, it has become clear that the CDA was violating and ignoring the international parking standards. The data obtained from the official websites of the above mentioned international cites states that average car parking requirements as; one car parking space for one room, five car parking spaces for 500 sq. feet area of restaurant and hotels and three car parking spaces for every 1000 sq. feet of commercial use area.