One of the premium number plates was sold for a whooping Rs100 million at an auction in Karachi on Saturday—an event the provincial government claims was being held for the “first time in Pakistan’s history.”

It was an ‘A-1’ number plate purchased by local resident Muzammil Karim. Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon awarded him the ownership certificate for the number plate.

The Sindh Excise Department generated Rs 675.4 million from the auction of 40 ‘Premum Number Plates’.

The Premium Number 1 Plate was auctioned for Rs100 million, Premium No Plate 5 for Rs50.3 million, No 7 for Rs40.6 million, No 8 for Rs40.10 million and No 9 for Rs40 million.

The Excise Department of Sindh held the auction at a local hotel in Karachi.

Another premium number plate ‘786’ was sold for Rs20.65 million to a businessman named Sarosh. Sindh Local Government Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah handed over the ownership certificate to Sarosh.

“The purpose of the premium number plate auction is not elitism, but a noble cause,” Memon said at the event and added that premium number plate was also a form of investment like gold and other assets.

He added that a number plate was auctioned for $14 million in the United Arab Emirates and the proceeds from such auctions were used for charitable purposes.

In line with the vision of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the provincial information minister said that the funds generated from the premium number plate auction would be used to build homes for the flood-affected people.

A total of 2,251 houses would be constructed for the flood victims with generated amount. “The Sindh government is continuously trying to help the flood affected people,” Memon said.

The minister said that the second phase of the auction of premium number plates would also be held very soon. He said that the next auction was expected to generate additional resources to further support ongoing reconstruction efforts.

The minister said that the Sindh chief minister has been instructed to ensure that the people were provided with new homes using the auction proceeds.

Last month, the provincial cabinet approved the proposal to introduce premium number plates for vehicles. The Excise and Taxation Department had offered three types of number plates: commercial, non-commercial, and motorcycle.

The Platinum number plates have a maximum of three characters and a base price of Rs2 million. Gold number plates have a maximum of five characters and a base price of Rs1 million, while Silver number plates have a maximum of seven characters and a base price of Rs50,000.