LDA plans more high-rises to address housing issues

Experts highlight horizontal growth of cities stresses underground water table

LAHORE: To protect precious agricultural land and encourage efficient use of urban land by promoting vertical development in the provincial capital, the government has announced to provide all necessary facilitation to the local and international developers and builders.

Lahore Development Authority (LDA) Vice Chairman S M Imran highlighted that in order to realise the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan to fulfil the housing needs of common citizens, the government has decided to provide maximum facilitation to the stakeholders.

Speaking to a delegation of Association of Builders and Developers (ABAD) from Karachi, Imran said the authority has already approved regulations for the construction of high-rise buildings after detailed deliberations with different stakeholders, including builders, developers, town planners, architects, academia and public at large.

High-rises ill-equipped to battle fires in Punjab

He further highlighted that the city developer has also prepared improved regulations for private housing societies and new rules have been drafted for completion of projects in a joint venture. He said the authority will welcome the builders and developer from Karachi, the trading and financial capital of Pakistan, to play their role in the vertical development of the city.

The ABAD delegation was given a detailed briefing about new regulations for the construction of high-rise buildings, including height limits, issuance of no objection certificate (NOC) from different government agencies. They were also briefed about the new master plan of the provincial capital and Land Use Rules 2019 which dictates about commercialisation policy of the metropolis.

During the meeting, it was disclosed that over 70 building plans for the construction of high-rises have already been submitted with the authority for approval.

The authority has also approved 65 new private housing schemes. Members of the ABAD delegations were also briefed about the Finance and Trade Centre (FTC) project, which would be the tallest structure in the city.

The ABAD delegation, which included Mohsin Sheikhani, Akbar Sheikh, Muhammad Ali Rotadia, Arif Yousaf Jewa, Arif Soria, K M Ayub, Shoaib Ansar, Muhammad Patail, M Hanif Gohar, Arshad Sheikh and others, also tried to draw a comparison between building rules of Lahore and Karachi. The LDA director general along with other senior officials also attended the meeting.

Available statistics show that there is a huge gap between demand and supply of housing units in the country, especially in urban centres.

Can high-rises solve Lahore’s horizontal growth problem?

Estimates suggest that urban housing demand in Pakistan is around 350,000 housing units per year, while supply is around 150,000 units per year, which is almost half of the demand. The country also faces a huge backlog of over 8.5 million residential units and this number is swelling by 200,000 units every year.

A recent survey of Punjab Agriculture Department highlighted that every year around 10% of agricultural land in suburbs of the provincial capital is being converted to residential colonies. The horizontal growth of major cities has not only put pressure on existing infrastructure but has also created various environmental and social issues.

Experts highlighted that horizontal growth of cities has stressed the underground water table as concrete and pavement of land create a barrier in the natural process of underground water table recharge. Change in land use has also increase agriculture commodities prices in cities because earlier provincial metropolis was being fed by neighbouring rural areas but now commodities are being transported from the far end. It has also increased travel time and congestion of roads, besides several other social problems.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2019.