Post here all info about new cities in Pakistan that are being built.

One of the latest addition of modern cities in Pakistan being established is New Dubai near Karachi

New city near Karachi to be established on modern lines
Pakistan Times Business & Commerce Desk
KARACHI: Spade work has started to bring up a new City, to be named as “New Dubai” along the Northern Bypass, to present it one of the world’s most modern city.

Foreign consultants will be employed in all aspects of housing and infrastructure for the new planned city to achieve best results.

“The proposal is being viewed with great interest to create a ribbon-shaped development astride Northern Byypass over its 46 Km length”, according to Chief Controller Buildings Brig A.S. Nasir, who made a presentation in detail about this project to Sindh Governor Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan.

This city will be totally insulated from North (Baluchistan) and Karachi.

However, since this issue needs decision making at the highest level, President and Prime Minister may have to be consulted before taking further initiative.

Sindh Governor has already been briefed on this project and he has highly appreciated the idea.

This city will have all the present modern day facility - from an international airport to tax free industrial zone for non-toxic industries. The new city will have four Towns - China Town, Maktoum Town, Mahatir Town and Faisal Town besides five-star hotel, filteration, desalination and recycling plants, diplomatic enclave, bus terminals, olympic stadium, middle income group apartments, international trade, banking, expo complex, education complex, jurist enclave, graveyard, government officers residences - to name a few.

“In the present times of globalization and commercialization, `New Dubai’ assures its credibility and reliability, to attract investmennt from foreign investors”.

This project will be developed on turn-key basis without the pressure of political system.

All future development would be based on sound infrastructure which includes sufficiency of water, efficient sewerage system and forward planning for atleast 20 years.

Most of the colonies or projects should be developed on turn-key basis for uniformity, qualitative construction and protection of interest of owners from fraud.

Housing projects should be so composite that all facilities of daily life are available including security within its compounds.

Aside from this ambitious and gigantic project of New Dubai City, there are some other plans involving four major projects.

An area of 25 acres and for divisional headquarters and bigger Towns like Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas and Sukkur, 50 acres will have to be set aside over which generally high-rise flats will be recommended for government employees for all the Mufassil districts.

These colonies in each District are proposed to be built on turn-key basis having all amenities so that talent of engineers, doctors and educationists posted to those remote Districts are secure.

In this regard Chief Minister Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim has approved high-rises on coast line of Karachi, by changing area ratio from existing 1:5.5 to 1:9 which will help improve the skyline of Karachi coastal area with buildings going upto 20 storeys.

KBCA plans to create a consortium of builders for each block to defray the cost of installation of desalination plant, filteration plant, purification plant and upgrading the infrastructure towards water front to ensure provision of efficient services.

Since the expenses on such proposed development are going to be high, additional composition fee will be charged from each builder which will be deposited in seperate account to facilitate payments.

The projects of showcasing Pakistan’s textile and cottage industries and over 25 acres each in Malir Development and Lyari Development Projects for this purpose is an attractive proposal.

Therefore, plots will be auctioned to entrepreneurs who will create their representative showrooms for buyers to visit and inspect the manufactured goods.

Among these 25 acres colonies each will be comprehensive in the need for services etc.

Source: Pakistan Times (http://www.pakistantimes.net/2005/07/03/business5.htm)

New city outside of Lahore: Emaar Al Bilad!

UAE company part of mega Lahore project

ABU DHABI — With an estimated cost of $800-900 million for the first phase, the new city to be constructed by Emaar Al Bilad Pakistan Ltd, a joint venture between Dhabi Group and Emaar, outside Lahore would be bigger than the size of Abu Dhabi.

Last fortnight, Shaikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, chairman of Dhabi Group, signed an MoU on behalf of his business associates including Emaar Al Bilad Pakistani Ltd, to begin the spadework on one of the largest housing schemes in Asia. The Government of Punjab is sorting-out the legal modalities of the MoU, before signing an agreement to start the construction activities of a modern and beautiful city of its kind which will take into account the growing needs of Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city with a population of 7.5 million.

The new city will be constructed in four phases with a total area of 30,000 acres. It will be a complete and independent city in its own right with its own hospitals, a university, colleges, schools, shopping centres, recreational parks, civic facilities. It would be annexed to Lahore from the ring road on one side near B.R.B Canal and the Lahore-Islamabad Motorway near Shahdara, as city will be located on the northeastern corner of Lahore. Out of total 30,000 acres allocated for the project, a huge lake and recreational project spread on 11,000 acres is integral part of the housing scheme, which will provide recreational facilities to its inhabitants. "While out of remaining 19,000 acres, the first phase whose ground-breaking is not likely to be done by late next year would comprise on 2300 acres of land...It would be developed into a modern, vibrant and bustling city where modern day town-planning concepts would be applied," said Bashir Tahir, CEO of Dhabi Group, in an interview with Khaleej Times.

The builders, Emaar Al Bilad Pakistan Ltd, are likely to construct at least 25 per cent of the housing colony on plots of 250, 500 and 1000 yards, according to international standards, which would be later be sold out to the public.

The Government of Punjab is working on a law which would be passed through the provincial legislator to acquire the lands from their owners besides laying out the rules and regulations governing the matters relating to the new city, of whose name has not yet been decided.

The total cost of acquisitions and construction of the modern day facilities are estimated to be at least $800-900 million. The Government of Punjab will contribute its 20 per cent equity in the shape of land, while the rest of the amount to finance the mega project would be raised by the UAE developers.

Khaleej Times (http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/business/2005/May/business_May457.xml&section=business&col=)

Can some mod make this a sticky?

construction of this 2 cities began or not ???
if yes any update or pictures of this ???

construction of this 2 cities began or not ???
if yes any update or pictures of this ???

I think they are in the developmentstages.

I found the following article related to the mushrooming of Housing Societies in Pakistan.


Paradise on earth, or is it?


By Mahnaz Hasan

THEY are mushrooming within and around the cities at an amazing speed. They offer you heaven on earth, transforming your dreams into reality, delivering the unattainable at your feet. Fall for the trap, and you keep waiting forever, throwing at stake everything you ever earned. Leave them unchecked, and they have the potential to wreak havoc on people’s lives and economies.

The scenario may sound bleak (like all those that are purposely painted black), but can nonetheless become a full-fledged reality of our lives — there is a thin line between fact and fiction and dreams can become nightmares in an instant. Especially without any checks and balances. I am talking about the so-called housing societies in the various cities of Pakistan that have cropped up almost overnight, particularly after the 9/11 phenomenon (official figures state that there are at present some 35,000 housing schemes in the country, approximately 200 in Lahore alone).

I touch this subject with a sense of foreboding, as if I tread on treacherous grounds; a taboo not supposed to be touched, a mafia not to be challenged. There is paucity of information, people are unavailable for comment; one has to deal with bias and hurt, a lack of rules to protect the unprotected, and so on — which may prevent me from doing justice to the subject. However, it’s worth a try.

Although their proliferation may be a recent phenomenon, housing societies in Lahore are a relic of the ‘80s (the Seth Abid days — some give him the credit of starting the trend — in good faith, however). They were intended to provide relief to the ‘common’ man who was desperately looking for ‘affordable’ and respectable living alternatives (as per official figures, Pakistan has 193 million housing units, with a backlog of 5.7 million units). They instead developed into a money-minting industry, a mafia with its own cruel logistics and principles. Most of them are still under development — and will continue to do so until eternity, it seems. In some, you cannot see any houses even after 10 years of initiation. Most are under litigation by the not-so-rightful owners (who can determine who the rightful owners are, when files move from hand to hand before the land is legally yours).

You can find them in the south-eastern corner of Lahore and along Defence Road onwards from Thokar (and I will not name them, as going into the history of each needs loads of time, which is beyond human capacity). They were originally agricultural land taken over by the authorities in exchange for a few kanals in the most prized location of the city (DHA) or was bought by the dream-mongers — call them investors, if you like — who laid the foundations of the proverbial housing societies. What you see today is a large percentage of land under litigation and only one or two ‘clear’ and developed phases in some of these societies. However, in the process of this development, many a fate has been transformed — an accident of fortune, which does not strike the common man. So, who are these dream-mongers?

Salman of Al Riaz Estate explains, “there are three major categories of people who are investing in property these days — those who are settled abroad but have connections/families here, those who have an ‘unlimited’ access to money and get together to form a ‘consortium’, invest in land and advertise a society; and those who take large-scale loans for ‘industrial’ purposes, but instead invest these in property. Only five per cent societies in Lahore can be considered safe for investment by genuine buyers, which include those that are selling constructed houses — the rest have dubious origins.”

Here is another narration of reality. “I bought in land in an advertized society in the outskirts of Rawalpindi, five years ago. They showed me the piece (a prized location) that would ultimately belong to me after I paid off all the instalments. I paid off half the amount in instalments and I generated some funds to pay off in one go, as it was more expensive to pay in instalments. When I went back to make the final payment and take possession of the land, I was shown a barren patch at the top of a mountain. I sold the file to someone who knew how to deal with these people and got my money back,” says Tariq Riaz, who works for a public relations company.

Then there are others. “My uncle bought some land in Jauhar Town years ago, since it was supposed to be the ‘in’ property in those days. He didn’t build a house there, since it was all wilderness (still is, to this day) and a hangout of dacoits. One fine day, when he went to check on the status of the site, he discovered that the plot was under-construction, bought by someone who showed ‘genuine’ LDA documents,” narrates Mubashir Khan of PMS Builders.

What does the LDA have to say on that? I am sure, a lot, provided they are available for comment (most officials were unavailable despite efforts to contact them for over a week).

The DHA is considered ‘safe’ in that respect — you can hang onto your piece of land for as long as you want to, without any fear that it might be claimed by another ‘rightful owner’ overnight. Later, it can be sold as gold (a one-kanal plot worth Rs800,000 in 1996 is now going for over 10 million, according to Naeem Aslam of Park View Estate), thanks to the ‘boom’ in the property industry created by our investors.

“However, even in DHA there have been exceptions,” says Mubashir. “Remember the recent scam of a major property dealing group, which advertised a society by ‘buying’ land belonging to a cook in Dubai, but got caught in time, when the government was requested to interfere by the UAE prince.”

The government, in all good intentions, has made efforts to make life easy for the common man. Land allotment procedures have been simplified. Easy and accessible long-term credits to low-income groups for the purchase of land or construction of houses have been made available through private loan companies and commercial banks. Housing finance companies have geared up to provide mortgage to lower and middle income groups. Foreign investment companies and international organizations, like the World Bank, have provided a billion dollars to help the government enhance housing schemes in the country (there is news of a UAE-based company now building a ‘parallel city’ outside Lahore). The housing sector has been declared as the fifth driver of economic growth, since the housing schemes activate huge economic activity besides providing employment for the unemployed, and the government is now spending 0.48 per cent of GFDP on housing.

Sounds good. However, this leads us to a few inevitable questions. Are there any rules and regulations governing the sale of land? If there are, who ensures that these are implemented — and how? How can land be saved from the clutches of the various “qabza groups” and the so-called investors, who have created a boom that has debilitated the common man from providing a decent shelter to his family?

An LDA official, who was taken unawares over the course of this inquiry, responded, “We didn’t have powers to check these irregularities. However now we do ‘chalaan’ any party that is found guilty and we even advertise immediately to announce any illegal offering so that the public is warned.” I suppose that is the extent of their jurisdiction.

Moreover, if the much-advertised boom was actually there (with all the ‘official’ developments mentioned above), then it may not be illogical to assume that the common people must be lining up in front of banks or commercial institutions offering loans for building houses? The HBFC says there has been no increase in any customers who come in for a loan for building a house or even reconstruction. HBFC’s terms are still the same — financing salaried or business class, providing long-term loans (stretched over 22 years) at an interest of 11 per cent per year.

Habib Bank corroborates the fact that there has been no increase in the number of people who come to them for housing loans. Their terms are easy (loans ranging from 0.5 to 15 million for a duration of 20 years with an 11 to 11.25 per cent interest).

Let property be an investor’s game today, but it does have a brighter side as well. Some semi-government as well as private housing schemes have, in deed, delivered on their commitment. One can also trust those areas where ready-made houses are up for sale, since investment is not made by the buyer for something that will be there in the ‘near’ future, and the ownership is clear. But one can count these on fingertips.

Then are these ‘clear’ housing schemes enough in number to solve the housing problem in the city? The ever-growing congestion in older areas, plus the traffic? Will they be a burden on the already over-burdened sewerage, sanitation and waste management system of Lahore?

“I don’t think so. Although it is generally believed that people from congested areas have moved to newer areas, what is their percentage? In reality, whom are these societies being built for? Investors. Businessmen, who retain or sell off land to manipulate the market to their advantage, while minting gold from mud. The inner city is still as cluttered and is now crumbling down. The residents need to be moved out of there, and relocated in new areas, providing them a decent place to live, and alternative commercial areas to run their businesses,” laments Mubashir.

Where does one seek redress?

Source: The Magazine published in the English Newspaper Dawn, July 3, 3005.

i think south lahore should be renamed new lahore, it is really develing ver fast with DHA, Bahria town, Lake city and many other housing projects there,

i think south lahore should be renamed new lahore, it is really develing ver fast with DHA, Bahria town, Lake city and many other housing projects there,

Nope, I think Lahore shouldnt be divided into parts. It will be to weird.

DHA is in the North-East not the south. Lake City isnt apporved yet, there is a reminder by LDA in todays news paper which has the names of the Valid housing societies and there is no project with the name Lake City.

DHA is miles away from NE, its in SOUTH-EAST to be precius.

DHA is miles away from NE, its in SOUTH-EAST to be precius.

In Lahore District DHA is north east. In the Lahore city (Area inside ring road) its in the East. But DHA is tens of Kilometers away from Bahria Town,Proposed Lake City and the majority of the new projects.

i think south lahore should be renamed new lahore, it is really develing ver fast with DHA, Bahria town, Lake city and many other housing projects there,
South east Lahore is already considered new lahore just not termed officially

New Garden Town Lahore
:http://www.estateman.com/maps/Lahore/New_Garden_Town/New_Garden_Town.gif:

^ New Garden Town (extension of Garden Town) is more than 20 years old.

New cities; this city that city! How many cities are being built; first of all they shouldn't even be called cities to begin with. Since when were housing socieities considered cities?

Bahria Town if all goes planned could be considered an actual town maybe in the near future when people actually flock there for a purpose other than living in high class. Independence Drive looks exiciting but so did the Port Tower Complex! You can't make a city especially when it's only based on residential neighbourhoods! All these "cities" are in my mind pre-planned burbs for rich, snobby people.

I'd really wish they'd stop calling these "cities"!

^ well said. These newly made towns cant be called CITIES. its quite funny to read everyday that they they're making a NEW CITY! :lol:

^ well said. These newly made towns cant be called CITIES. its quite funny to read everyday that they they're making a NEW CITY! :lol:

But it is very sad that even today, with a population og 160 millions,we need help from outside world to get things like these done.
How jobs would not have created if most of the work were by ourselves?

I would rather have it done right and properly than have inept people work on things such as masterplans.

But it is very sad that even today, with a population og 160 millions,we need help from outside world to get things like these done.
How jobs would not have created if most of the work were by ourselves?

Labor is done by Pakistanis and I am sure that in the management there are also Pakistanis.

But it is very sad that even today, with a population og 160 millions,we need help from outside world to get things like these done.
How jobs would not have created if most of the work were by ourselves?

Just because we have a population of 160 million that doesn't mean that we'll magically become good at doing stuff. Only 3% of Pakistanis go to university, barely over half the population can read and write and they have probably only studied till primary school. So how can you expect us to be experts? A greater population doesn't equal being great. India has a population of 1 billion, if they have no problem getting outside help then why do we?

What a mega bump this is.

A 2 year bump to be precise :tongue2:

I was even a member back then. But refrained from posting in this thread.

I was even a member back then. But refrained from posting in this thread.

No I wasn't. I joined on July 24th, 2005 and this discussion dates back to 3rd, 4th and 5th of July.

You were born on SSC after this thread!

You were born on SSC after this thread!

I remember I browsed this forum for a whole month before joining. I read all the posts in MP. Though at that time there wasn't nearly as much activity as there is now. Neither were there so many pics of Pakistan on the net at that time.

I joined and started posted the same day, heck I even created my first thread on the same day :tongue2:

I joined and started posted the same day, heck I even created my first thread on the same day :tongue2:

u da man........!!

:bowtie:

Nope, I think Lahore shouldnt be divided into parts. It will be to weird.

DHA is in the North-East not the south. Lake City isnt apporved yet, there is a reminder by LDA in todays news paper which has the names of the Valid housing societies and there is no project with the name Lake City.

No project with the name of lake city.....????:nuts: i ws there in janurary they showed us the stunning model house n the town(under contruction) .... so u mean its illegal nt approved?????

No project with the name of lake city.....????:nuts: i ws there in janurary they showed us the stunning model house n the town(under contruction) .... so u mean its illegal nt approved?????

And you didn't take any pics?? :no: