Bahria Town Karachi


Bahria Town Karachi is a privately owned gated suburb just off the M-9 Motorway northeast of Karachi, Pakistan.[2] The suburb is being developed by the Bahria Town Group, and occupies over 46,000 acres (72 sq mi; 19,000 ha). Construction started in 2014 and will continue.

This article is about a neighbourhood in Karachi. For the developments in Rawalpindi and Lahore, see Bahria Town and Bahria, Lahore.
Bahria Town Karachi
gated community
Bahria Town Karachi Gate
Bahria Town Karachi Gate
Bahria Town Karachi is located in Pakistan
Bahria Town Karachi
Bahria Town Karachi
Location in Pakistan
Coordinates: 25°00′N 67°19′E
CountryPakistan
StateSindh
DistrictMalir
Government
 • TypePrivately owned and managed
Area
 • Total186 km2 (72 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total100,000+
Time zonePST
Size46,000 acres[1]

The community includes the Grand Jamia Mosque, which is planned to be the world's third largest,[3] and the Rafi Cricket Stadium, the country's largest, designed by GMW Architects. Bahria Town has the Danzoo which is the largest zoo in Karachi. It has Bahria Adventura which is the largest theme park in Karachi. It has multiple schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, parks, monuments, cinemas and shopping malls.[4][5][6][7] The community is divided by the 25-kilometre-long (16 mi), 400-foot-wide (120 m), 18-lane, Jinnah Avenue.[8][9] The community will be energy independent with a coal-fired and an LNG-powered electricity generation plant, in partnership with K-Electric.[10][11] It is also home to a 36-hole United States Golf Association standard golf course.

The community consists of over 60 precincts and is planned to house around one million people.[12][13] The town will be connected to I. I. Chundrigar Road by a Karachi Metrobus route in the future.[14][15][16] In 2019, Bahria Town Karachi demanded unplanned 35% development charges, which were later inferred for an unknown period.[16]

Sub-divisions

Bahria Town Karachi is divided into more than 60 precincts.

Sub-division Description
Precincts 1 through 31 Residential plots of 125, 250 and 500 Sqft.
Bahria Farmhouses 4,000 to 8,000 Sq Yards Plots[17]
Bahria Sports City Residential plots around the Rafi Cricket Stadium
Bahria Homes 125 and 200 Sq Yard townhouses.[18]
Bahria Apartments 2, 3 and 4 bedroom low-rise apartments[19]
Bahria Heights Mixed-use development with furnished 2-bedroom apartments and shops.
Jinnah Avenue Modeled after the Sheikh Zayed road in Dubai, the 400 ft road with 500sq.ft commercial plots for high rise buildings.[20]
Bahria future projects agency the 400 ft road with 500sq.ft commercial plots for high rise buildings.[21]
Bahria Karachi Golf Club 36 Hole PGA Standard Golf Course
Grand Jamia Mosque Planned to be the third largest in the world.

Infrastructure

A number of traditional villages were destroyed to make way for Bahria Town Karachi, often without the requisite legal approval. The development has significantly changed the topography of the area.[22]

Saudi German Hospital Group constructed a 300-bed hospital on a 12-acre site at a cost of $300 million.[23] The Hospital is named Begum Akhtar Rukhsana Memorial Trust Hospital.

On October 5, 2016, K-Electric and Bahria announced plans to set up a plant for construction of a 600MW energy plant exclusively for Bahria Town Karachi.[24]

On September 1, 2016, China Railway Construction Corporation Limited and Bahria Town Group signed agreement for construction on Blue Line of Karachi Metrobus which will connect the town with downtown Karachi.[25]

Controversies

2015

Pakistan Rangers claimed in a meeting that Bahria Town has been allotted 44,000 acres from Sindh Government, while the amount of land in records is less than 44,000 acres.[26]

2016

On 1 August 2016, Supreme Court, the top court of Pakistan ordered Bahria Town Karachi and Malir Development Authority (MDA) to halt the construction work at 5,786 acres of land with an immediate effect. In an interim order, the apex court has ruled the land was illegally allotted to Bahria Town by the development authority.[27][28]

The court also directed National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to complete its investigations and submit a report within two months. It also restrained the Sindh Government from allotting any further land to Bahria Town.

Bahria Town officials rejected the claim and report. One of the officials said that the land has been purchased from local.[26]

2018

The Supreme Court decided to investigate the Bahria Town Karachi development in May 2018, citing massive irregularities in the way land was acquired. The apex court barred Bahria Town from selling or allotting land in the Bahria Town Karachi project after declaring that the allotment of land to the company by the Sindh Government and a massive land swap with the Malir Development Authority (MDA) was done illegally.[29]

2019

After 10 months of legal wrangling, the Supreme Court agreed to Bahria Town Karachi's final settlement of Rs460 billion (approximately US$3.1bn) on 21 March 2019. Under the terms of the settlement, Bahria Town Karachi will have to pay the entire amount over seven years. In its ruling, the top court ordered Bahria Town Karachi to pay Rs25 billion by August 2019. From September 2019 onward, it will have to pay monthly installments of Rs2.25bn for the next three years. If the company fails to deposit two installments, Bahria Town Karachi will be considered a defaulter.[30] The first tranche was successfully received on 30 August 2019.[31]

Under the terms of the settlement, only 16,896 acres of the total 24,571 acres has been validated by the Supreme Court [32]

2021
Bahria Town gate set on fire by protesters in June 2021

In April, clashes broke out between Bahria Town Karachi and indigenous Sindhi Villagers when Bahria Town Karachi began expanding its development into nearby villages.[33] In response, many parts of Sindh observed a shutter down strike.[34] Later on June 6, 2021, nationalist parties and indigenous people announce a sit-in in front of Bahria town's iconic gate,[35] later protest went violent and Bahria's iconic gate set on fire by protesters.[36] According to some people of Sindh, the society extending itself illegally with support of Sindh Government and thus some people of Sindh reject this extension.[37]

Following the protests a number of activists and civil society members were beaten or threatened by the police and Bahria Town security. Police arrested thousands of people on terrorism related charges including people not present at the July 6 protest.[22]

  • Bahria Town Eiffel Tower is built on a hill and is visible from far away
    Bahria Town Eiffel Tower is built on a hill and is visible from far away
  • Grand Jamia Mosque is planned to be the 3rd largest in the world
    Grand Jamia Mosque is planned to be the 3rd largest in the world
  • Egyptian columns at the main entrance
    Egyptian columns at the main entrance
  • Tauheed Square, one of the largest in Bahria Town
    Tauheed Square, one of the largest in Bahria Town
  • 17th Avenue Bridge
    17th Avenue Bridge
  • Highrise buildings on Jinnah Avenue
    Highrise buildings on Jinnah Avenue
  • Allah Wali Roundabout
    Allah Wali Roundabout

See also

References
  1. Court, Supreme | (2019-03-26). "SC issues detailed verdict in Bahria Town case". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  2. Ali, Fahim Zaman | Naziha Syed (2016-04-18). "Bahria Town Karachi: Greed unlimited". www.dawn.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  3. "Bahria breaks ground on world's 3rd largest mosque". The Express Tribune. 2015-01-06. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  4. "Cricket stadium: German firm lands Bahria's contract - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  5. "Bahria Sports City to feature Pakistan's largest cricket stadium - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  6. "Bahria Town project and it's invisible hands – The Express Tribune Blog". blogs.tribune.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  7. "Bahria Town Karachi: Balloting held for plots at Midway Commercial - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  8. Mansoor, Babur. "Jinnah Avenue Commercial - Bahria Town - Your Lifestyle Destination". www.bahriatown.com. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  9. "Bahria Town Karachi: Projects received overwhelming response - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  10. "Mega project: Karachi to get coal, LNG-based power plants, says Malik Riaz - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  11. "Bahria Town, KElectric ink agreement on power plants for Karachi". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  12. "Bahria Town Karachi - Everything you Need to Know". ThePost Blog!. Retrieved 2016-04-18.
  13. "Possession ahead of time: Bahria Town offers excellence, affordability - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  14. "Bahria Town to build 54km expressway in Karachi: Malik Riaz". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  15. "Bus Rapid Transit only solution to Karachi traffic woes: Penelosa - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2015-03-26. Retrieved 2016-06-11.
  16. Monitoring Cell, Bahria Town Karachi Exploitation (2020-06-06). "Bahria Town Karachi — Additional Unplanned Development Charges". www.medium.com. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  17. Mansoor, Babur. "Bahria Farmhouses Karachi - Bahria Town - Your Lifestyle Destination". www.bahriatown.com. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  18. toot. "Bahria Homes Karachi - Bahria Town - Your Lifestyle Destination". www.bahriatown.com. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  19. toot. "Bahria Apartments - Bahria Town - Your Lifestyle Destination". www.bahriatown.com. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  20. Mansoor, Babur. "Jinnah Avenue Commercial - Bahria Town - Your Lifestyle Destination". www.bahriatown.com. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  21. Mansoor, Babur. "Future projects cial - Bahria Town - Your Lifestyle Destination". www.bahriatown.com. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  22. Hafeez, Somaiyah; Musyani, Zafar. "The Battle Over Bahria Town Karachi". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  23. "Dailytimes | Bahria Town, BAB ink $300m accord to improve health sector in Pakistan". dailytimes.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  24. "KE to invest Rs496bln in power generation, distribution network over 10 years". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  25. "Bus Rapid Transport: Bahria Town, Chinese group ink Karachi transport deal - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2016-09-01. Retrieved 2016-11-01.
  26. Asad, Malik (2015-07-02). "Sindh govt allotted 44,000 acres of land to Bahria Town: Rangers". www.dawn.com. Retrieved 2016-04-20.
  27. "SC restrains Bahria Town Karachi, MDA from construction work | SAMAA TV". Retrieved 2016-08-27.
  28. "Order Supreme Court of Pakistan" (PDF).
  29. "Supreme Court finds massive illegalities in land acquired by Bahria Town for housing projects". The Dawn. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  30. "SC accepts Bahria Town Karachi's Rs460bn offer, halts NAB references". The Dawn. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  31. "Rs 25 billion deposited by Bahria Town: Sindh government urges SC to hand over money". Business Recorder. 31 August 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  32. "SC issues detailed verdict in Bahria Town case". The News. 28 March 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  33. "'They fired at everyone': peril of Pakistani villagers protesting giant luxury estate". the Guardian. 2021-05-28. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  34. Report, Dawn (2021-05-09). "Protests held in many Sindh towns against people's eviction from Karachi's old villages". DAWN.COM. Dawn. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  35. "بحریہ ٹاؤن کراچی کے باہر ہونے والا احتجاجی مظاہرہ ہنگامہ آرائی میں تبدیل، گاڑیاں اور عمارتیں نذر آتش". BBC News اردو (in Urdu). BBC Urdu. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  36. "Two towers of main Bahria Town gate set on fire by angry mob". Daily Times. 2021-06-06. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  37. "بحریہ ٹاؤن کراچی: ہنگامہ آرائی کرنے والوں کے خلاف دہشت گردی کی دفعات کے تحت مقدمات درج". BBC News اردو (in Urdu). Retrieved 2021-06-07.
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