Total Cost of Islamabad Model Prison Project Has Increased by Almost 4X

The total cost of the Islamabad Model Prison project has gone up almost four times since it was first approved. The project has also been postponed for another two years.

According to reports, the project is now estimated to cost Rs. 18,279.498 million, which is almost four times higher than the total cost approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in 2017, which was Rs. 3,920.523 million, translating to a 365% increase.

It had been revealed in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development & Special Initiatives at the end of last year that the rise in raw material costs and delays, the cost had already gone up to Rs. 12 billion by December 2021.

The project was planned to include the construction of a Model Prison/Jail in Sector H-16, Islamabad, with facilities for 2,000 prisoners and room for an additional 2,000 in the future.

The Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Administration and the Ministry of Interior are the project’s sponsors, while the Pakistan Public Works Department (PakPWD) is the executing agency.

The project scope primarily includes an administration block, male, female, and juvenile barracks, residential facilities for jail staff, educational and prayer buildings, and the National Academy for Prisons Administration, as well as external development construction projects and electrical and mechanical works on a land area of 90 acres.