Safe haven amid unrest: LDA initiates ‘secure and affordable’ housing scheme near Hawkes Bay
Billed as a gated society for the common public, the project invites residents from nearby Lyari.
KARACHI:
Right across from the often-agitated town of Lyari and near the Arabian Sea, the project of a well-planned gated society has been initiated, offering residents safety from crime, outsiders and the city's unrest.
The brainchild of the Lyari Development Authority (LDA), the project has taken over 11,450 acres from the defunct Karachi Development Authority (KDA) at Hawkes Bay Scheme 42 to develop affordable housing for the public.
On Saturday, LDA director-general Agha Maqsood and his team organised a full-day visit for journalists to show off the pace of development work at the site.
"This is the first government sector housing scheme for the common public since 1985," said Maqsood. "We call it an affordable housing scheme, where anyone can buy a constructed house for just Rs1 million - a mere 40 per cent of the total cost."
He further said that one of the achievements of the project was that it has saved the site from encroachments, pointing out that a large amount of public funding had already been invested there.
He added that nearly all of the scheme's infrastructure had already been completed, including a bulk water supply line, stormwater drains, sewerage systems, two sites for KESC grid stations and watchtowers.
"The project is being watched over by private security guards and police enforcement," he commented. "While it will be the first gated housing scheme in the area, there is very little chance of any critical law and order situation here."
Citing the unrest in Lyari, Maqsood said that the residents of the area were living in a congested environment with few education or health facilities. "We are requesting people, especially from Lyari, to come and help us colonise this society, so that their children can be provided education and refrain from unlawful activities," he said.
Pointing to two constructed model houses, Maqsood claimed that the LDA was developing the scheme on a 'no profit, no loss' basis. "Our expected cost assessment is Rs2.2 million for a 120-yard house," he said.
Meanwhile, chief project engineer Najeeb Malik, talking to The Express Tribune, said that the site had been transferred from the KDA to the LDA in 1996 under the LDA Act of 1993. "The scheme remained dormant for several years due to the lack of resources, but the LDA generated the funds to restart the physical development with the balloting of 9,000 residential plots in 2008," he explained.
He further said that major infrastructure, including 113 kilometres of main roads and 18 kilometres of stormwater drainage, had been constructed, while a 48-inch diameter sewerage line and a 33-inch diameter water pipeline had also been laid down.
"The government has provided us with no facilities, so we have to generate funds for further development with our own resources," said superintendent engineer Muhammad Shahid. "We therefore ask people to help us populate this society. We guarantee the security of their investment."
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2014.
Right across from the often-agitated town of Lyari and near the Arabian Sea, the project of a well-planned gated society has been initiated, offering residents safety from crime, outsiders and the city's unrest.
The brainchild of the Lyari Development Authority (LDA), the project has taken over 11,450 acres from the defunct Karachi Development Authority (KDA) at Hawkes Bay Scheme 42 to develop affordable housing for the public.
On Saturday, LDA director-general Agha Maqsood and his team organised a full-day visit for journalists to show off the pace of development work at the site.
"This is the first government sector housing scheme for the common public since 1985," said Maqsood. "We call it an affordable housing scheme, where anyone can buy a constructed house for just Rs1 million - a mere 40 per cent of the total cost."
He further said that one of the achievements of the project was that it has saved the site from encroachments, pointing out that a large amount of public funding had already been invested there.
He added that nearly all of the scheme's infrastructure had already been completed, including a bulk water supply line, stormwater drains, sewerage systems, two sites for KESC grid stations and watchtowers.
"The project is being watched over by private security guards and police enforcement," he commented. "While it will be the first gated housing scheme in the area, there is very little chance of any critical law and order situation here."
Citing the unrest in Lyari, Maqsood said that the residents of the area were living in a congested environment with few education or health facilities. "We are requesting people, especially from Lyari, to come and help us colonise this society, so that their children can be provided education and refrain from unlawful activities," he said.
Pointing to two constructed model houses, Maqsood claimed that the LDA was developing the scheme on a 'no profit, no loss' basis. "Our expected cost assessment is Rs2.2 million for a 120-yard house," he said.
Meanwhile, chief project engineer Najeeb Malik, talking to The Express Tribune, said that the site had been transferred from the KDA to the LDA in 1996 under the LDA Act of 1993. "The scheme remained dormant for several years due to the lack of resources, but the LDA generated the funds to restart the physical development with the balloting of 9,000 residential plots in 2008," he explained.
He further said that major infrastructure, including 113 kilometres of main roads and 18 kilometres of stormwater drainage, had been constructed, while a 48-inch diameter sewerage line and a 33-inch diameter water pipeline had also been laid down.
"The government has provided us with no facilities, so we have to generate funds for further development with our own resources," said superintendent engineer Muhammad Shahid. "We therefore ask people to help us populate this society. We guarantee the security of their investment."
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2014.