US Embassy Compound

The Embassy of the United States in Islamabad has launched construction work on its new eight-storey multipurpose compound over 56 acres of land(more than White House 51 acres), will be able to house 7000 persons (almost 3 quarters of a Division of Army troops including embassy staff). The strength of this steel and concrete structure will be able to sustain any nuclear attack. A petition has been filed in Supreme Court of Pakistan against the construction of this high security risk structure.

Once completed, the new US Embassy compound would be one of the biggest across the world. The layout plan was approved in a meeting of the Design Vetting Committee chaired by the then Member Planning and Design Tahir Shamshad. They have plans to built similar structures at Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Karachi and Multan.

The project comprises two phases and will be completed by June 2017. According to a fact sheet issued by the US embassy on the project, the new compound will replace all existing facilities and infrastructure on the current embassy ground. 


CDA has also allowed a road to link the embassy with Kashmir Highway, however the construction cost would be borne by the beneficiary. The security agencies have expressed apprehension that the surveillance devices may be installed at the building to observe activities in nearby located high profile buildings on Constitution Avenue. 


Opposite to the under-construction US embassy, the CDA is also planning construction of Media City that would comprise two ten-storey towers to house print and electronic media organizations. Moreover, a 25-storey Grand Hyatt Hotel is also under- construction near Convention Centre.