KARACHI: Master Plan 2020: can it deliver?

[Neo]

What ails Karachi’s investment climate?

By Imran Ayub

KARACHI: A United States body in collaboration with local authorities have found major deficiencies, which are blocking investment in Karachi and may distract business from the city known as the country’s economic engine.

In the first State of Pakistan’s Competitiveness Report prepared by the Competitiveness Support Fund a joint venture between United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Pakistan’s finance ministry several areas were indicated through surveys of businessmen and constraints to investing in Karachi.

“A distorted land market that has reduced the land available for commercial and residential use,” says the recently-launched report. “The major impediments arise from unclear property rights, inappropriate zoning laws, pro-tenant legislations and high taxes on property related transactions.”

It also blames such causes for delays and costs of enforcing contracts. However, the report finds the issue is being addressed by judicial reforms that will increase the number of judges, provide them with additional and more specialised training, especially for dealing with commercial disputes and other measures, such as increasing the non-salary budget for police investigations and enforcement.

The report also discusses deficiencies in urban infrastructure, especially electricity, water supply, and sanitation in the metropolis, which contributes around 65 per cent and sometime 70 per cent of total federal revenue collections.

“This requires a combination of efforts by the central and the provincial governments,” says the competitiveness report. “Major investments in electricity generation and transmission are in the works, while the devolved local governments are focusing on improvements to water supply and sanitation.”

The report which was launched a few days ago by the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was termed as an important step to focus the energies of the nation around the common goal of making the country a stronger economy.

The CSF report, which finds some obstacles in smooth execution of business regulation and Pakistani economy, came a few days after the World Economic Forum recognised the economic achievements of the country in the latest Global Competitiveness Report, ranking Pakistan 66th on the Business Competitiveness Index out of 125 countries.

The CFS report chapter exclusively over may help understanding local industry’s concerns related to investment in the port city, which houses five major industrial estates and offers highest rate of return.

“Although the problems of non-Karachi urban Sindh in some respects resemble those affecting Karachi, particularly as regards deficiencies in infrastructure especially electricity supply, a number of city-specific issues need special attention,” said the report.

“Thus, in the second and third largest cities in Sindh (Hyderabad and Sukkur), businessmen identified the lack of skilled labour as their main problem, while access to land ranked lower.”

Again, the report said, entrepreneurs in the interior of Sindh viewed law and order as the chief disincentive to investment. The situation was said to be stabilising, but a perception problem remained, it added.

The Sindh government is already in agreement with through a memorandum of understanding with the CSF aimed at enhancing the competitiveness of industries in the country.

Established as a joint initiative of the federal ministry of finance and the USAID, the CSF supports goal of a more competitive economy by providing input into policy decisions, working to improve regulatory and administrative frameworks and working to enhance public-private partnerships within the country.

The CSF also provides technical assistance and co-financing for initiatives related to entrepreneurship and the private sector with research institutes, universities and business incubators that contribute to creating a knowledge-driven economy.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=47933

 

[Neo]

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

City to have enough power by mid-2009

ISLAMABAD: Short-term measures are being taken to overcome the power shortage in Karachi but the issue will only be permanently solved by summer 2009, said the spokesman for the Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) Sultan Hassan Tuesday.

Speaking on the national TV network, Hassan said that the installation of new power stations was underway but their completion would take some time. “Since the KESC was privatized in December 2005, it has invested $300 million to $400 million to upgrade its generation and distribution system but achieving these objectives overnight is not possible,” he said.

A power station took around three years to complete while transformers and distribution wires were arranged on an advance-order basis, which was why upgrading was so time consuming.

He said that the situation started to deteriorate in the mid-1990s when KESC, as a public sector organisation, was barred from investing in power generation projects. “The government at that time chalked out a policy under which the IPPs were assigned to feed the KESC’s electricity demands with the promise that the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) would fill the gap between supply and demand if required. Therefore, KESC did not improve its power generation infrastructure and started to face a shortage after it was privatized.”

Responding to a question, he said that the bundle cable distribution system was introduced in areas where power theft was rampant.

Also, the problem of WAPDA’s dues would be amicably settled and WAPDA would not disconnect its supply to the city over this.

Staff report adds: The shortage of power supply from Wapda and a beleaguered KESC distribution system has been causing intermittent power failures across the city for the last couple of weeks. On Tuesday, when the temperatures was over 40 degrees load shedding lasted in some areas for more than five hours.

“We are unable to study,” said Amjad Siyal, a student of Class X in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Town. “Our exams have just started and we need to study all the time but no one seems to care.”

Another student complained that KESC should at least announce the schedule of load shedding. “If KESC announced the schedule, we could set out timetable to manage our studies,” said Ayesha Arman from F.B. Area.

A KESC spokesman told Daily Times that due to a 145-MW shortage and a fault in Unit 6 in the Bin Qasim Thermal Power Plant there had been prolonged power failures. “KESC had to continue with load shedding in rotation,” he said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\18\story_18-4-2007_pg12_1

 

[Neo]

'Qatar to construct 'city center' in Karachi'

ISLAMABAD (April 27 2007): Project Director, Tameer Karachi Programme, Rauf Akhtar Farooqi on Thursday said that Qatar government was interested in constructing a "city center" in Karachi at a cost of $1.5 billion. Talking to PTV about the mega projects in Karachi he said.

it was for the first time that federal government was taking interest in the development of Karachi and development projects worth Rs 29 billion were nearing completion. He said, mega project of Sohrab Got flyover would be completed in next two months. Phase one of it was already open for the public.

Another mega project is the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the road, which leads towards Korangi industrial area. It was the long awaited demand of the public, he said, adding this project would cost Rs 1.120 billion and would be completed in three months.

Farooqi said corridor one project, which included three flyovers, three underpasses was completed in record time of eight months, adding it had reduced pressure on the main highways. He said, similarly, the corridor two project, which was recently approved by City Nazim Mustafa Kamal would start from Sharah-e-Faisal and after passing through Gulistan-e-Johar and Gulshan Iqbal would terminate at Nazim Chorangi.

"We will never compromise on quality, all roads are of international standard and their life is 30 to 35 years," he added. He said every road had its drainage system and the underground system was being improved so that there was no need to break the road if there was any problem of leakage or drainage, adding all underground infrastructure had been improved.

He was optimistic that rainy season would not be a trouble for the citizens of Karachi. Farooqi said that increasing foreign direct investment in Karachi manifests that foreigners had full confidence in the city's future.

He said, Karachi elevated expressway was a project of $350 million and a Malaysian company was investing in this project. Malaysia was also constructing an Information Technology Tower in Karachi, which would be the largest building of Pakistan, he said adding it would be 47-story building and there would be 10,000 call centers in it.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=556430&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Thursday, May 03, 2007

ADB commits $400m loan for Master Plan

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has committed a $400 million loan for the implementation of the Strategic Master Plan (SMP) Karachi, a government official told Daily Times Wednesday. The loan is part of the mega-cities-financing facility and would be available to Pakistan during the next fiscal year.

The SMP, in accordance with Vision 2020, is expected to be finalized during the next 40 days, said the official. The plan intends to develop road infrastructure so that problems such as traffic jams can be resolved. A $350 million mass transit project is expected to be constructed. The federal government will provide $120 million as a sovereign guarantee.

Authorities are also planning to run 8,000 CNG buses in the city during the next four years. All outdated buses will be scrapped after the SMP’s completion. The city is expected to attain about 250 CNG buses by the end of May.

The SMP also proposes steps for the effective control of incidents such as fires in multi-story buildings. It plans to seek improvements in existing health facilities at 273 hospitals, medical centers and dispensaries. Furthermore, the government is planning to invest Rs 16 million so that water and sewerage facilities can be improved. The cost of providing these facilities is currently estimated at Rs 2 billion, however, the SMP plans to replace and repair old lines so that long-term costs can be reduced. Furthermore, sanitation services are expected to be privatized so that the current garbage removal deficiency of 2010 tons can be resolved.

Moreover, the project position paper reveals that presently 629 MGD water is being supplied to Karachi out of which 445 MGD water is being filtered at five filtration plants. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) has approved a Rs 3-billion project which aims to construct a water filtration plant at old NEK, however, it still awaits ECNEC’s approval. Furthermore, expansion in the existing filtration capacity of the C.O.D. hills filter plant has also been proposed.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\03\story_3-5-2007_pg12_2

 

[Neo]

Thursday, May 03, 2007

320MW power plant by 2008

KARACHI: The 320MW power plant, gifted to the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) by the Abu Dhabi government, will be made operational by 2008, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the Sindh Governor’s Secretariat. Sindh Governor Ishratul Ibad Khan said that every possible resource should be arranged to enhance the production of electricity to meet the requirements of the city. Project Coordinator Tanveer Zaidi said that more plants will be brought in to increase the total generation capacity to 1800MW. PORTEC, a company jointly owned by Singapore and Italy, is executing the project. Meanwhile, a delegation of Al-Rajhi Group from Saudi Arabia called on the Sindh governor and expressed interest in investing in the real estate sector in Karachi. They said that the company has already spoken to the CDGK, and the civil aviation and port authorities.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\03\story_3-5-2007_pg12_3

 

[Neo]

More vertical projects billed to transform Karachi skyline

By Muhammad Yasir

KARACHI: More than 25 vertical housing projects have been announced in various localities of the metropolis over the last four months. These projects will provide around 3,000 residential units of various categories to citizens.

That their prices will vary according to the value of the location is stating the obvious.

Details obtained from the booking offices of various projects reveal that 75 per cent of the housing units of different categories have been booked. In view of the surging buyer inquiries, it is expected that the remaining units would also be notched up by the end of this month.

Some housing projects have been launched in posh localities, including North Nazimabad, Defence View and Sharea Faisal and their prices are predictably among the highest.

The most pricey project has been launched in North Nazimabad after a very long time. The project named “Prime Galaxia Duplexes” is based on four- to six-bedroom apartments, each costing between Rs4.2 million and Rs9.8 million. It has 42 flats.

A tall 14-floor vertical housing project “Diamond Residency” was also announced in Defence View comprising 490 units with the aggregate cost ranging between Rs3.4 million and Rs2.8 million. Each apartment is of 4 and 5 bedrooms.

One project is being constructed on Sharea Faisal near Karachi Cooperative Housing Society (KCHS). Named Gohar Tower, the project comprises 300 units of 2, 3 and 4 bedrooms. Prices start from Rs3.5 million and go up to Rs6.4 million.

In the fast-growing and densely-populated Gulistan-e-Johar, three housing projects have been launched during the same period. They are designed to provide 300 units.

One project christened “Elite Comforts” is to offer 112 apartments, each made up of five to six bedrooms. Prices range from Rs3.2 million to Rs4.3 million, depending on how roomy the flat is and on which floor.

In Gulshan-e-Iqbal, two projects by the name of Rupali Twin Towers and Saim Apartments are coming up. They will offer 4- to 5-bedroom apartments with prices ranging between Rs3.2 million to 4 million.

These two areas are most noticeably witnessing skyward expansion, with builders unveiling project after project of integrated apartment blocs.

Gulshan-e-Maymar is another locality where pace of residential schemes’ development is pretty fast. In the Scheme 33, four housing projects have been launched under different names. Together, they are to offer 250 apartments of two to four bedrooms. Prices will range from Rs1.8 million to Rs2.8 million.

In these schemes, about 90 per cent of units have been booked. Lakhani Delux Apartment and Lakhani King Tower are the most recently announced projects where apartments are still up for sale.

Over the last six months, about 20 housing schemes of residential and commercial plots were announced in and around Gulshan-e-Maymar, Sirjani Town and Northern Bypass.

According to realtor Najaf Raza, the pace of plots’ and home construction is escalating in Maymar despite sluggishness being experienced by the city’s real estate market.

He pointed out that a large number of bungalows and apartments are being built in sectors P and Q. On the other hand, he said, land prices are also shooting up in these areas.

Near Two-Minute Roundabout in North Karachi, one apartment project has been launched, which comprises 158 units of 2 and 3 bedrooms. Prices are pegged anywhere between Rs2.2 million and Rs1.7 million.

Besides, three community-based vertical housing projects have also been announced in Scheme 33. They comprise 300 units of three- to four-bedroom category. They are slated to fetch a price between Rs2.5 and Rs3 million.

Three mega projects have also been launched in Defence VIII named Creek Vistas and Creek Marina.

Chairman of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI)’s Standing Committee on Housing and Construction Munir Sultan said these under-construction projects were too limited to cater to the demand of a growing population.

He said that about 1.2 million housing projects are required every year in Karachi to keep pace with the population growth. He stressed that the cost of housing projects should be controlled with the prices of land, so that lower-income and middle-class people could affordably find a shelter.

Builders claim that a majority of these flats will be built over the next four years, but these claims are always taken with a pinch of salt. It’s very rare that developers keep the promise and hand over the booked flats to buyers on time. Often the delay is by up to two to three years.

In addition to the negotiated price, builders also demand development charges which vary from Rs0.2 million to Rs0.5 million for each unit.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=54314

 

[Neo]

ADB approves $200 million for Karachi mega projects

KARACHI (May 06 2007): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved 200 million dollars - a first instalment of 800 million dollars assistance package for Karachi Mega City Development Projects. City District Government Karachi (CDGK) will spend the allocated amount to execute several uplift projects including development of road infrastructure and solid waste management.

Besides construction of a separate road track for the proposed modern rapid bus transport system from Surjani Town to Mazar-e-Quaid. City Nazim, Syed Mustafa Kamal apprised that ADB has approved $800 million assistance package for uplift projects in the metropolis, adding that the bank in first phase would provide CDGK with $200 million.

He said that $200 million would be used for establishment of six garbage transfer station, two water filter plants of 100MGD, which were of the high priority projects to be initiated forthwith. However, he said that several other such uplift projects would also be kicked off in the city, adding that these all proposed projects would be completed in one and a half years span.

A separate bus track for rapid bus system will be constructed from Surjani town to Saddar and another track of similar kind will be built from Orangi Town to Nazimabad Bridge, Kamal maintained. The Mass Transit Corridor-I from Sohrab Goth to Tower will also be linked to this proposed system, he said and added that platforms would also be constructed on railway lines.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=560516&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Karachi uplift plan ​

ADB prepares technical report

Thursday, November 22, 2007

ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank, with the help of other donors, has completed a technical report on mega city Karachi development plan, which will come on the ground till 2009.

The ADB and other donors have provided technical assistance worth $20 million for the mega city Karachi development plan. According to the ADB report, total project costs are $20.5 million equivalent, including interest during implementation. The foreign exchange component cost is estimated at $14.8 million while local currency costs are estimated at $5.7 million. The total cost includes interest during implementation of $0.30 million.

The overall implementation schedule for the TA loan is four years. Careful scheduling of activities is required so that some capacity building is provided only when duties and responsibilities are clear and subprojects which need to be justified in terms of the city’s spatial development framework are only taken forward once this work is completed.

The ADB report said Sindh is the second largest province of Pakistan in terms of populations; it occupies 19 per cent of land area with 23 per cent of the total population. Estimated population in 2005 is 35 million. It is the most urbanised province of Pakistan, with 49 per cent of its population living in urban areas. The Gross Regional Product (GRP) of Sindh was estimated to be Rs1,019 billion in FY 2003 representing 28 per cent of the national GDP.

The economy of Sindh grew at the rate of 6.87 per cent over the period of 1998-2003. In FY 2001 national GDP growth was a low 1.8 per cent compared with that for Sindh projected at 7 per cent. Likewise national GDP growth in FY 2002 was 3.3 per cent compared with Sindh’s 5.8 per cent and in FY 2003 national GDP growth was 4.8 per cent compared with that of Sindh of 9.2 per cent. It is likely that this trend has continued with Sindh’s growth in FY 2005 exceeding the national average of 8.4 per cent as a result of strong agricultural production trends and increased commercial and manufacturing activity in Karachi.

Karachi, the report said, the capital of Sindh, is the commercial hub and the gateway of Pakistan. The city handles 95 per cent of Pakistan’s foreign trade; contributes 30 per cent to Pakistan’s manufacturing sector; and almost 90 per cent of the head offices of the banks, financial institutions and multinational companies operate from Karachi.

The country’s largest stock exchange is Karachi based, making it the financial and commercial centre of the country. It also comprises about 40 per cent of the total banking and insurance sector of the country. Karachi contributes 20 per cent of GDP, adds 45 per cent of the national value addition, retains 40 per cent of the total national employment in large scale manufacturing, holds 50 per cent of bank deposits and contributes 25 per cent of national revenues.

The poverty line adopted by the government of Pakistan is based on a caloric norm of 2,350 calories per adult equivalent per day and minimum non-food requirements. This poverty line approximates Rs748.6 per month per equivalent adult in FY 2001. Based on the 2001 poverty line and the FY 2002 income levels for Karachi the head count poverty rate is calculated at 50.5 per cent of the total 12.5 million people living in Karachi.

The current average household monthly income in Karachi is in the range of Rs5,000-6,000 and the per capita monthly income at Rs7,858. The pattern of household income shows that around 9.5 per cent of the households having monthly earnings of less Rs3,000 are living under extreme and chronic poverty; while another over 14 per cent are transitory poor.

The transitory vulnerable poor is the major category under the poverty line. Overall 50.5 per cent of the total population is below poverty. Another 8.5 per cent in the monthly income range of Rs6,000-7,000 living above the poverty line and are vulnerable to shocks.

Another important feature of poverty in Karachi is a high concentration of the population within a small range around the poverty line. It is estimated that as much as 59 per cent of the total population in fact fall between the poverty line and a level of consumption that is equivalent to 75 per cent of the poverty line. Based on this argument, the whole population is divided into the consumption-expenditure based qualities or “poverty band” around the poverty line of Rs748.6 that helps in understanding the “transitory vulnerable.”

Karachi uplift plan

 

[Flintlock]

This is how Karachi will look like when its done:

These buildings are from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad...they won't be bunched up together this way.

 

[EagleEyes]

This is how Karachi will look like when its done:

Bun hi nahi jaye beta.

 

[solid snake]

Bun hi nahi jaye beta.

Why so cynical? Most of these buildings are being built by foreign investors, so I don't see where your skepticism is coming from

 

[Black Stone]

The plans does look nice, good luck to Pakistan.

 

[Neo]

Kamal links new projects with Master Plan 2020 ​

KARACHI (January 13 2008): The City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal has linked launching of new developmental projects and schemes in the city with Karachi Strategic Development Plan 2020. The nazim said this while chairing the Governing Body meeting of Malir Development Authority (MDA) in his office, said a press release issued here on Saturday.

He said an approval from Iftikhar Ahmed Qaimkhani, Executive District Officer (EDO) Master Plan Group of Offices (MPGOO), would be mandatory for starting any sort of development work in the metropolis. The Karachi Nazim also directed the MDA to begin construction of housing units in developed sectors of Malir Housing Scheme and Taiser Town within three months to avoid establishment of encroachments and wastage of funds.

The meeting approved several matters including taking over of all areas falling under jurisdiction of MDA under the notification, allocation of space for graveyards, inclusion of city government employees working in MDA for balloting of plots after deep deliberations.

Other matters cleared were construction of the MDA office near New Vegetable Market and a new city complex (city centre) and allocation of places for other mega projects, said the Press release. The city nazim said that the two desks opened at MPGOO for Lyari Development Authority (LDA) and MDA would be used for planning and scheduling of these authorities. The nazim also directed the two authorities to focus more on housing works in developed sectors before planning for new residential schemes, it said.

To facilitate housing in the developed sectors allotees should be asked to take possession of their land and start construction work, he said, adding that the government would initiate supply of basic facilities like water, power and other utilities to these schemes within six months.

The city nazim said awarding of plots to city government employees was linked with their performance while the incompetent, lazy and ghost employees would not be given the plots.

The meeting was informed that allotment work in the New Malir Housing Scheme was started after completion of 80 percent development work in the scheme, said the release. It was also noted that in Taiser Town 60 percent infrastructure development work was completed and the city government had requested Karachi Water and Sewerage Board for supply of 6mgd water daily to the Town.

Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]

 

[Parveez Syed]

Pakistan power cuts, another ENRON? by Parveez Syed © 2008
FixyaExperts wordpress com, FixyaExperts blogspot com

 

[pkpatriotic]

Great plan for Elite (the suckers) Master's economy and their further developments