You send me picturs of Lahore,s rain ??????????????? what for ? I m not from Lahore i m from Karachi and if my city nazim and I must ask questions about my city not about Lahore................You and Nazim-2 are proud of his work,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and Rain is a mirror for you people to show you your work.............Don,t get angry and try to see your face in this mirror..................................In Quraan Allah says "Rain is Rehmat " so it means it is not the fault of Rain , if the rain fall over Garden grow up flower but if the rain fall over garbage its smell ,,,,,,,,,,,,MQM always have there false propaganda about so called TARAKIATI KAAM , but rain show you your KAAM,,,,,,,,,,,,,Don,t compare Karachi with Lahore / Peshawar ,,,,,,,,,,,,for us Karachi is Karachi,,,,,,,,,,,we don,t care what are others doing to their city , we have to take care of our city..............................HAM BAZAR BHATAY HAIN , TUJAAY ATKHYLIAN SOJIEN HAIN....................
MQM gave darkness to Karachi
- Thread starter itsnotme90
- Start date
MYCOUNTRY said:
People like you can not do any thing but only try to find some mistakes in others work.
This is also your city and you should try to clean atleast your locality.
Stay at home and MK is on the road and helping people of karachi and people will give him their support again.
Tum Jaisay Loog Kuch Nahee Kertay Hain >>>>Sirf Keera Nikalna jantay hain.
Shame on you
http://www.jang.com.pk/jang/sep2009-dai ... /u4092.htm
Jeayyyyyyyyyyy Kamaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaal
I did and i will do all for this city but problem then you and MK will take the credit for it....................Any way if MQM and MK can return us this city as it was in 70s i will be very thankful for it..........we don,t need the lights you shown in the picturs but its too dark behind it..................
Tell me what happened in only two hours rain the city look like a sea.................where is the drainage system of the city ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Tell me what happened in only two hours rain the city look like a sea.................where is the drainage system of the city ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
anees_captan
Citizen
No.1 ......aadhei sey ziada picture per Computer sey kam keya howa hai..........................or ....No. 2 janab lights sey keya hojata hai.....wahan ke logoon ko jeeney do..........or bhatta Leyna (Jagga Tex) khatam na kero per koch kam ker do...............or No. 3 ................ city per koch lagao gey to koch khao gey na..................city nazim (Jagga Tex ) leney main hai Zalim............... or MQM .......................SAMJH TEY GEY HI HOWO GEY..................
Well all MQM and Nazim's lovers see this link below which you may be ignored, Rahat gave this link and very informative link, nobody can denies this, Good Work Rahat, Here is the matter of Parks only, Just imagine what they did in other projects,
Spartacus you asked for any mega project completed in 4 years, so i think Moterway M2(Islamabad to Lahore 367Km) completed in 1993 to 1997, its has more then 10 interchanges and several overhead bridges and river bridges underpasses for local population, Its a mega project then all the porjects of currently developed in Karachi,
In news today i heard also Corridor 3 was highly damaged by the yesterday rain, When it was constructed?
@ Pak Patriot, yes you are right no party will set a commision for finding the facts, But we can force our leadership to do so by motivating others, currently ball is in MQM court and if they want then they can set a commision and i pray they do anything right now and dont ignore their 15000 Karkun's deaths, First of all no politics should be based on dead bodies but now this case is invoke so this should be solved by truth reconcillation commettie so no body will raise this issue again in future. All Pakistani and Muslims are brothers and if i say i love karachi then its mean i love Karachi peoples also, I love Pakistan and I love all Pakistanis.
For those who misses or ignore this link from Rahat,
http://www.shehri.org/encroachments.pdf
Spartacus you asked for any mega project completed in 4 years, so i think Moterway M2(Islamabad to Lahore 367Km) completed in 1993 to 1997, its has more then 10 interchanges and several overhead bridges and river bridges underpasses for local population, Its a mega project then all the porjects of currently developed in Karachi,
In news today i heard also Corridor 3 was highly damaged by the yesterday rain, When it was constructed?
@ Pak Patriot, yes you are right no party will set a commision for finding the facts, But we can force our leadership to do so by motivating others, currently ball is in MQM court and if they want then they can set a commision and i pray they do anything right now and dont ignore their 15000 Karkun's deaths, First of all no politics should be based on dead bodies but now this case is invoke so this should be solved by truth reconcillation commettie so no body will raise this issue again in future. All Pakistani and Muslims are brothers and if i say i love karachi then its mean i love Karachi peoples also, I love Pakistan and I love all Pakistanis.
For those who misses or ignore this link from Rahat,
http://www.shehri.org/encroachments.pdf
Noumanz said:
As you wrote ....."...Moterway M2(Islamabad to Lahore 367Km) completed in 1993 to 1997...."
1. You are comparing Mayor with PM ......Search Mayor projects in all over the world including Pakistan.
2.To whom would you like to give credid for this ( your indicated project) ? Nawaz ( 1993) ,3 months Gov. by others , BB ( 1993-1996), 3 months Gov. by others , 1997 ( Nawaz again ).....
3. Good Luck
1: You asked for the mega projects anyways now you asked for mayors mega project then i will also search about it and let you know about that,
2: Who intiate the project? that project time line for completion was be 3 years but PPP govt put some hurdles in that because Nawaz Sharif started that and once they ordered to made that of 4 lanes and after some times they ordered again for 6 lanes, If this is the matter then we can also say that most of project was initiated by Naimat Ullah Khan and he raised the budget from 3 billion to 40 Billion Rs,
I think you forget to comment on the link given at the end of my last message, Please do so
Good Luck to you also
PakPatriot1
Senator (1k+ posts)
Noumanz said:
@NaumanZ
Do you know what is the problem with you? Your pre-determined hatered for MQM is not allowing you to appreciate a pinch the work done by Mustafa Kamal.
How come you can convince a common Karachiitte that these works are from Naitmat Ullah not from Mustafa? The common citizen of this city knows very well what was the conditions of his city 4 years back and what he is enjoying right now.
Come on man! Show your Ala Zurfi and accept that Mustafa is also a Pakistani and he also can deliver exactly like what Shahbaz Sharif is doing in Punjab.
@ naumnz ...who said bout dinking ..hahaha ..dude you are weird ....how bout u make assumptions on urself instead of otherz....no wonder all ur posts are in predetermined state of mind not listening to others no matter wat they say ...and how bout u keep it urself ...i just said bout naimatulah ..why u getting all burned up...and yes now u dont get angry ..okaey...peace
rizwan1003
Politcal Worker (100+ posts)
Spartacus said:
Hey Spartacus, I was gonna show u a lot of mega projects completed in less than three years. But after reading your reply to one of the friends on this forum, I remember the story of Jews as narrated in Surah Al Baqrah in Al Quran, that how they were asked to slaughter a cow and how many questions they asked because they didn't want to accept that order.
P.S: Here I didn't mean to call u a Jew, since they are really smart!!
rahat said:
(1)
If that's so. Then why HAMEED GUL didn't give the money to MQM. Why not MQM was in IJI? Why the beneficiary was only Qazi Hussan, Nawaz Sharif, etc. Why MQM faced operation? Why thousands of workers of MQM killed? Why fake Jinnah Pur map? If MQM was created by establishment, almost all the parties took the 2002 local bodies election, but MQM didn't. Because, constitution was suspended. And when former world record holder of PCO oath, CJ Iftikhar Chudhry legalized, MQM took part in National election.
(2)
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xMeehdfdBg[/video]
(3)
THE KILLERS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE OF KARACHI
SATURDAY 12th MAY, 2007
THE COLD BLOODED MURDERERS AND HENCHMEN BELONGING TO THE AWAMI NATIONAL PARTY (ANP),
PANJABI PAKHTOON ITTEHAD (PPI) AND PAKISTAN MUSLIM LEAGUE (NAWAZ SHARIF GROUP)
ARE VIVIDLY SEEN CARRYING SOPHISTICATED AUTOMATIC WEAPONS INCLUDING PISTOLS AND AK-47
WHILE THEIR ACT OF MINDLESS FIRING COULD ALSO BE SEEN WHEN YOU CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOGRAPHS.
ANP WORKERS ARE WEARING THEIR PARTY BADGES AS SEEN IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS.
One Haqiqi terrorists is seen loading his arms
(4)
They are deprived because, they are not ready to challenge the establishment. The day they are ready to unite like MQM, they will get there amount of share.
1- MQM do not require the money from the eastablishment, as it was created by themselves in 70-80 with certain objectives i.e. to crush the peoples movement in urban areas of sindh and to create hurdle for PPP in Sindh. so there is no need to mention their role to obey their masters and creating hurdles in the peoples movement for the establishment of a just and fair system and rule of law.
2- As far as Development projects are concerns, I can give I am quotation only one project of city nazim with the finance of foreign donors, as it evolves big kicks back. The subject project is famous "elevated expressway on shaharih-e-faisal.
Below are the some of the concerns of the reputed professionals related to the field. Hope after reading that no one will try to hide the corruption of MQM being underway:
The News (10-04-2007)
An elevated hazard
If the City District Government of Karachi is to be believed, the planned Karachi Elevated Expressway, to be built in the city's busy business district, will be the best thing to happen for the country's commercial capital. However, the project has earned the severe disapproval of a wide array of architects, environmentalists, engineers and a section of civil society. Their views, expressed at a public hearing organised by the provincial environmental protection department last week, make eminent sense given that the planned project will see an elevated expressway running along Karachi's primary thoroughfare -- Sharea Faisal -- for 25 kilometres, connecting the central business district with the city's outskirts, to the north of its airport. Not only will its construction cause massive disruption to the city's traffic system -- already close to a mess on any given day -- it will be an environmental nightmare and an aesthetic monstrosity. Besides, the choice of an elevated expressway seems a bit odd since the trend all over the world nowadays seems to rely on relatively more environmentally-friendly approaches such as building a subway or improving the whole system of traffic by greater monitoring and regulation of private vehicles and introduction of alternative forms of transport. In fact, the planned route of this particular project is such that it will mar the view of many of the city's major buildings and neighbourhoods, since many lie on or straddle Sharea Faisal.
If the project does go ahead, it also involves several private sector organisations, including some of the city's leading hotels, parting with some of their land (presumably in exchange for compensation). However, and understandably so, the hotel owners have already objected to the project, saying that the last thing their guests needed was to see a massive concrete structure blocking the view from their room's window. One primary argument being used by the backers of the elevated expressway is that it will bring in foreign investment and presumably the government will not be paying much out of its pocket to fund it. However, this approach by the federal and provincial governments in Pakistan needs to be modified because projects should not be blindly built just because they bring in large amounts of foreign investment. Instead, the environmental and long-term effects of these projects should also be considered when such decisions are made, particularly the views and opinions of all stakeholders, especially those who are to be directly affected by a project's construction and eventual completion. Not only that, in this particular instance, once built, the expressway will charge tolls for use so to say that there will be no cost to the general public is entirely misleading.
As for the environmental impact, the CDGK is almost dismissive of such concerns. Its version of the public hearing, which is available on its website, suggests that a decision has already been made to disregard the concerns expressed by civil society to the project with the hearing portrayed as one where it was successfully shown that the expressway would have no adverse environmental impact. Surely, such a stance does not help and only reveals that the CDGK considers the whole process of conducting an environmental-impact assessment (as required by law and pending whose approval no construction can begin) of the project as nothing more than a formality. Also, the project shows a distinct lack of priorities in that the city does not have a fully functioning solid waste management and garbage collection system and its government has ambitions to make an elevated expressway stretching some 25 kilometres. More consideration needs to be given to all those who have disapproved of this idea. It would be better if Sharea Faisal was left alone and if at all such an expressway, linking the city's port with the highways to its north, is to be built, then there are other routes which will cause less social, environmental and aesthetic harm. Also, alternatives such as making the Karachi Circular Rail functional, exploring other rail options and the much-needed streamlining of the overall system of traffic management need to be considered before any hasty decision is made.
DAWN (April 12, 2007)
The Karachi Elevated Expressway
By Arif Hasan
METRO VOICE
THE Karachi City Government has decided to build an elevated expressway, called the Karachi Elevated Expressway (KEE) from Jinnah Bridge to Quaidabad. The Expressway will pass over Moulvi Tamizzuddin Road, Club Road and Sharea Faisal. is to relieve congestion on Sharea Faisal and provide a fast link between Karachi Port and Port Qasim for port related traffic. The narrowest section of the corridor through which the KEE will pass is from the PIDC to Napier Barracks. This stretch is Karachis potential tourist area and contains its main five star hotels, Gymkhana Club, Sindh Club, Quaid-e-Azam Museum and Napier Barracks (which are heritage buildings). Frere Hall is also in close proximity. In this stretch the KEE will cover almost the entire road width. As required under law an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been carried out by consultants hired by the proponent. The EIA findings are that the adverse affects of the KEE are minor and can be mitigated. At a public hearing on the EIA citizens and professional bodies expressed serious concerns on the concept and design details of the KEE. However, the design details and the financial feasibility are of secondary importance. It is the concept of an elevated expressway through the most prestigious corridor in Karachi that needs to be questioned. The EIA has stated that elevated expressways in other countries have solved traffic problems similar to the ones faced by Sharea Faisal and that there is no other solution to these problems apart from constructing the KEE. This view conflicts sharply with a large body of technical and academic literature on transport engineering and with the experience of a number of cities that have constructed elevated expressways through their city centres. Bangkok, Manila, Tehran, Cairo and Dubai have all constructed scores of kilometres of expressways. These expressways have not solved traffic problems and traffic conditions in these cities are far worse than Karachi. Dubai, which is nearest to us in geographical terms, is grid-locked for six to eight hours a day. No country in the developed world today would ever dream of building an expressway to their city centres because of the environmental and aesthetic degradation that they cause. As a matter of fact, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Seoul and Paris have actually demolished their expressways and turned them into public space or housing.
This demolition has relieved traffic congestion because it has been accompanied by better traffic management, the development of a larger traffic and transportation plan, segregation of local and thorough traffic and/or the building of segregated bus ways which have supported people opting for taking the bus rather than using a car. In our case none of these alternatives have been explored and nor is the KEE a part of a larger traffic and transportation plan. This was recognised by the consultants during the public hearing. There are also financial issues that have not been seriously studied. The investment by a foreign company for the KEE is to be recovered by a toll on vehicles using the KEE. At the hearing we were informed that the traffic volume on Sharea Faisal that would use the KEE was not sufficient for the company to recover their investment. As such, it has been decided to divert all port related traffic onto the KEE in spite of the fact that other options such as the very feasible routes of the Southern and Northern Bypasses are available. So we will now have trucks, container vehicles and tankers plying overhead the Sharea Faisal in addition to encroachment on urban space and the denial of sun light in the narrower confines of our most prestigious corridor. Again, this decision conflicts with experience for cities like Bangkok, Seoul and Manila are trying to limit or ban heavy traffic on their inner city expressways. Boston has demolished the expressway carrying heavy traffic and in Riyadh the pollution of the expressway passing through the city was so heavy that they decided to vacate the areas on either side of it and forest them. In addition, the Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP) has pointed out that for an average toll of Rs 20 per vehicle, 143,835 vehicles per day would be required to use the expressway. Where they will come from is not known. The building of the KEE is an ad-hoc and ill-informed decision. It is the expressed desire of the city government to turn Karachi into a world class city. The building of the expressway will certainly not help in achieving this objective
DAILY TIMES (21- 02- 2007)
19 reasons why Shahra-e-Faisal shouldnt be destroyed by an elevated expressway: IAP
Staff Report
KARACHI: The Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP) has listed 19 reasons and concerns about the proposed Elevated Expressway (EE) that the CDGK plans to build over the M.T. Khan Road / Shahrah-e-Faisal corridor, according to a press release Tuesday. On Feb 24, the CDGK is holding a briefing on the project at the AKU at 10:30 a.m., the IAPs Amina Nasim Jan told Daily Times.
According to the press release, the architects and planners are not against development; in fact their business thrives with the development in the country but Shahrah-e-Faisal which has been there since before Partition was never designed to support an elevated expressway.
The project proposes to construct a 24km long, 4 lane expressway which will stretch from Jinnah Bridge at Keamari to Quaidabad in Malir. Vehicles will be required to pay a toll. There will be six entry and exit points; Quaidabad, Star Gate, Karsaz, Shahrah-e-Quaideen, Hotel Metropole, and Jinnah Bridge. The EE will be high enough to clear the existing overpasses and will have toll plazas at intermediate levels at the six entry/ exit nodes. There have been very limited public hearings on this project.
Several prominent members of the architectural and engineering communities have expressed their reservations but their concerns have been brushed aside in the rush to initiate this project in the name of development and foreign investment.
The IAP believes that there are several reasons why this project is conceptually flawed and unfeasible: The EE is being developed to ease the current and projected load on Shahrah-e-Faisal. The project does not take into account the alternative route and the relief that will be provided by the Lyari Expressway nor does it consider any different corridors to divert traffic off of Shahrah-e-Faisal.
The EE is proposed to be a high-speed link for freight and passenger traffic between the airport, Karachi Harbour and the Port Qasim. Realistically, there is very limited traffic between the airport and the two ports. Instead there is much greater freight traffic between the ports and the rest of the country, adequately serviced by the Northern Bypass.
It is also not correct to refer to the EE as the Southern Bypass as has been suggested because it bypasses nothing and ploughs through the densest and most valuable real estate in Karachi. The EE also does not service any of the industrial estates of Karachi. There is no direct access to the EE from Korangi, SITE and North Karachi except through residential neighbourhoods. These areas are much better served by the Northern Bypass and the National Highway.
The project proposes to place a limited access high-speed expressway over the alignment of Shahrah-e-Faisal and M.T. Khan Road. This would mean that the expressway would have the same constraints and limitations as Shahrah-e-Faisal and M.T. Khan Road and will hardly allow expressway speeds. For example, the expressway will travel over the Bridge at PIDC, squeeze between Hotel Pearl
Continental and Hotel Sheraton; curve around Hotel Metropole and past Hotel Avari.
By adding the EE, the volume of traffic that can be handled by the Shahrah-e-Faisal corridor may be doubled but the roads leading into Shahrah-e-Faisal and away from it will remain the same. This will create major congestion on roads feeding Shahrah-e-Faisal. An EE is an expensive and inefficient response to the citys traffic problems. When the volume exceeds the capacity of the EE, it will not be possible to widen it. Therefore, this project will have much shorter productive life span than an on-grade highway.
The EE is being proposed as a 4 lane highway with two lanes traveling in either direction (The 6-lanes claimed in CDGK publications includes entry and exit lanes). There is no provision for a shoulder or emergency lane. A breakdown or accident on the expressway will result in traffic jams of monumental proportions, with no escape for vehicles and no access for fire tenders or ambulances except from the six exit points.
The placement of the six entry and exit points is not rationally based on the requirements of the citys traffic but rather on the limited space available for entry and exit ramps and toll plazas. For example, there is no entry or exit at Jinnah Airport. Airport traffic will exit the EE at Star Gate intersection and merge with Shahrah-e-Faisal traffic till the JIA intersection. There is no interchange at either Rashid Minhas Road or FTC. Residents of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and DHA would have to exit earlier and merge with Shahrah-e-Faisal traffic.
The proposed Master Plan 2020 calls for the development of multiple nuclei, i.e. additional business districts at different locations throughout the city to reduce commuting time and pressure on our roads and other resources. The goal of this proposal is to decrease the dependence on Saddar. This is a commendable proposal in the Master Plan. The EE tends to contradict this goal of the Master Plan as it seeks to concentrate more traffic into Saddar. If this money were applied instead to develop a Central Business District in Port Qasim it would open up jobs there and reduce traffic to Saddar.
Lastly, the increase in the number of cars on the roads in Karachi is not a valid justification for the construction of new highways. The city should not be fascinated by the notion of having an elevated expressway as if such a thing is an achievement that heralds Karachis elevation to a mega city. Elevated expressways are usually the failure of urban planning because they indicate that a city has failed to manage its traffic problems through less dense, less expensive, on-grade solutions.
The construction of the EE will ruin one of the most attractive boulevards in Karachi. Trees along Shahrah-e-Faisal will be lost. It will effectively place a roof over the existing roadway, cutting off sunlight and breezes. Anyone wanting to imagine the ambience of the resulting roadway need only stand under the NIPA flyover or the Liaquatabad Flyover and imagine it extending for 24km.
The increased traffic load on the Shahrah-e-Faisal corridor and the construction of the EE will greatly increase the levels of emissions. The expressway perched above Shahrah-e-Faisal will trap pollution and prevent it from dispersing.
The EE passes through the heart of Karachis thriving commercial, business and tourist districts. Much of its length is over Shahrah-e-Faisal which was recently
designated as a corridor for high rise commercial development. After its completion, traffic on the EE will whiz past the third and fourth floor of these buildings. The high walls of these building will create a canyon-like effect which will trap pollution and amplify noise. The EE will obscure the facades of every building that it will cross, greatly hinder peoples access and will depreciate real estate values.
The price tag for the EE has grown from the initial US$225 million through $250 million to $350 million (Rs 21b). Figures much higher than these have been quoted by independent sources. The feasibility of this project depends on the recovery of the cost through tolls.
The EE project is expected to cost $350 million or Rs 21 billion. The developer is expected to recover their investment by collecting tolls from all vehicles over the first 20 years of its life. This means that the operator will need to collect Rs 1,050,000,000 per year or more than Rs 2,876,000 per day. If the average toll per vehicle per trip is set at Rs 20 that would amount to 143,835 cars per day using the expressway. Divided between the six entry/exit points, that amounts to almost 24,000 cars per exit per day or one car every 3.6 seconds. It would seem unlikely that the CDGKs financial claims about this project will be realized. In which case the foreign developer of the project will claim the CDGKs sovereign guarantee. The construction of the EE will cause severe hardship to the residents of Karachi particularly to the businesses located on Shahrah-e-Faisal. The construction time of 30 months appears to be too optimistic considering the usual pace of construction in Pakistan (foreign developer notwithstanding). The CDGK has not shared any plans with the citizens of Karachi on how it plans to achieve these diversion plans during the construction period and which adjacent neighbourhoods will be affected.
Shahrah-e-Faisal is the main access route to the airport and is heavily used for the movement of VVIPs. How will this access be maintained during construction? What diversionary routes will be used for VVIP traffic at added security risks? There have been no public hearing held to discuss this with residents and businesses along the Shahrah-e-Faisal / M.T. Khan Road corridor.
The EE is not the only solution to the traffic problems of Shahrah-e-Faisal. After its completion, The Lyari Expressway will handle a large volume of traffic currently accessing Shahrah-e-Faisal from the north. The IAP proposes two alternatives: develop an on-grade highway along the Malir River bed and; develop the under-construction road through the Korangi Industrial Area into an expressway. Both proposals can be connected laterally across the Malir River to Shahrah-e-Faisal which will provide a natural detour during VVIP movement. This will allow citizens living south of Shahrah-e-Faisal to use this expressway instead. Both proposals can be connected to Karachi Harbour through limited access corridors through DHA.
A global city vs the environment
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
THE entire civilised world is greatly concerned with where the environment is going and the world with it. The dangers facing are massive. As an entity, the government of Pakistan seems to be oblivious and carries on in its own merry way. However, there are a few of us who realise the implications of global warming and all that goes with it. Credit must be given to one of our private television channels which, on Earth Day, April 22, showed an Urdu translation of former US Vice-President Al Gores award winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Gores message is quite simple: if you and I do not reduce and cut back our consumer oriented and environment unfriendly lifestyles, climate change will overwhelm us and bring unpleasant and radical changes in life as we know it. Knowing the calibre of our home-grown politicians, it is doubtful if any of those who regulate our lives have bothered to watch it. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was given a copy of the documentary by a delegation of civil society groups, spearheaded by the World Wildlife Federation, who met him a month or so ago to discuss the deteriorating water situation in Pakistan. Has he had time to see this documentary? If by some miracle he has seen it, has it made even a small dent in his resolve to transform Karachi the former Pearl of the East, now flooded with katchi abadis, hard hit by electricity load-shedding, drowning in uncollected garbage, stinking with raw sewage which streams directly into the sea into what he terms a world-class global city? The world-class global city (a concrete unlivable jungle poisoned by pollution) mantra of the federal government has been taken up by the Defence Housing Society of Karachi which is hell-bent on the construction of a 14-kilometer Waterfront Development Project along a public beach that does not belong to it, which will cater to the rich and infamous and be totally awam-unfriendly. On alternate Sunday evenings, concerned citizens have organised demonstrations on the beach road (near McDonalds) which so far have had no impact. The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency continues to ignore the environmental impact assessment of the conversion of the shoreline as ordered by the Sindh High Court. Get-rich-quick schemes are infectious in Karachi, as in all other cities of this blighted country. The concept of beach exploitation, with the prime ministerial blessings, has been picked up by the Dubai-based limitless which proposes to develop a new 68,000 acres city along the Manora, Sandspit, Hawkesbay and French beaches, stretching inland to occupy the coastal fishing villages, KDA Scheme 45 and even PAF Masroor base. An amazing presentation of this Karachi Waterfront can be downloaded from http://www.youtube.com Then we have our local government and its schemes for various elevated expressways, in
particular the one planned to run 24 kilometres from Jinnah Bridge to Quaidabad to which numerous groups and concerned citizens have objected (my column of April 8). The government has heeded some objections. Land is not to be taken away from the Karachi Gymkhana or the posh hotels or the Christian cemetery, all of which lie along its route, and the existing rights of way will be used. A committee of experts (mandatory under the Environmental Act 1997) is being formed to review public comments. The City District Government has cleverly sidestepped several issues raised. Why has a $ 350 million contract been awarded without competitive tendering? What are the financial details of the somewhat murky annuity-based BOT? How does the expressway fit in with the overall traffic management plans for the city? Why is the administration not first tackling the massive violations of traffic rules, unlawful parking, encroachments on our roads, and many other traffic planning-related issues? Why are public/mass transport systems not being given priority? Why is inter-port (Karachi Port Trust/Port Qasim) traffic not being conducted by an economically more sound railway system? Lending credence to the fact that the elevated expressway is already a fait accompli (finders fees have already reportedly been paid), and that the Environmental Impact Assessment is but a window-dressing in pretence of complying with the law, is the fact that the City District Government parks officer, Liaquat Ali Khan of the silken outfits, a couple of weeks ago started chopping and transplanting some 2,000 trees from the centre portion of Sharea Faisal. The Japanese care about the environment and they apparently care more about Karachi than its administration. They are prepared to give us funds to build five steel bridges in the city (runs into billions of rupees) but only if we first conduct an environmental impact assessment. Unlike the City District Government, they do not believe that an EIA is a professional study only professionals should be allowed to participate in professional discussion (a quote from the CDGK response to the Institute of Architects, Pakistan, on the subject of the elevated expressway). At the end of last month, the press reported extensively on the signing of an implementation agreement for a $ 160 million landmark project being set up at Port Qasim, Karachi, that will allow natural gas imports into Pakistan for the first time in the countrys history. The project comprises a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification terminal being set up by Excelerate Energy of Texas, USA, for Pakistan Gasport Limited, a local company whose principal sponsor is the Associated Group, the largest single producer of LPG in Pakistan. The project envisions the berthing of a re-gasification vessel which will be charged through smaller LNG carriers coming up the Korangi Creek, past residential localities, fishing villages and other port traffic. The re-gasification process will convert the liquid gas to high-pressure gas on board the ship and deliver it directly into the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited network. Such a process has numerous environmental downsides, and is fraught with the hazard of an LNG leak forming a vapour cloud whose explosion and fire could destroy habitations and structures many miles away (download LNG Vapour Cloud Danger to our Communities at http://timrileylaw.com to verify the perils).
It may be of interest to the citizens of Karachi to know that the California Coastal Commission unanimously rejected a proposed $ 800 million Cabrillo Port 72-million gallon floating LNG terminal approximately 14 miles off the coast of Malibu. The final environmental impact statement for the project acknowledges that it will cause significant impact to air and water quality, public safety, marine wildlife, views, recreation, noise and agriculture impacts that cannot be mitigated or avoided. Residents of coastal California have been lobbying for months against the venture. The citizens of Boston are fighting to end the dangerous passage (commercial traffic, roads and bridges are closed during this time) of LNG tankers into Bostons inner harbour. These LNG tankers have been termed floating bombs vulnerable to terrorist action. Excelerate Energy is now constructing a deepwater port 12 miles outside Cape Ann in Massachusetts (outside US territorial waters). Why cant our gas port be built far away from human habitation? A Japanese-type environmental impact assessment needs to be conducted for the entire project. It should be clear that many of the tensions and conflicts that exist in Pakistan are related to environmental problems generated by islands of prosperity in oceans of poverty, to quote from an address made by President General Pervez Musharraf in February this year. As is being increasingly perceived around the world, especially in the European Union, climate change, brought about by destruction of the environment and progressive decimation of living species, is no longer merely an economic or environmental issue. Margaret Beckett, the first woman foreign secretary of the UK, recently stated, Anyone wanting to trace the links between what science is telling us about physical impacts and the broader ramifications for our security would do well to read a startling report that appeared last Monday. The Military Advisory Board is a group of the most respected retired Admirals and Generals in the United States. . . . They are about as far as you can get from the old stereotype of a tree-hugging environmentalist. And yet in that report they state, categorically, that projected climate change poses a serious threat to Americas national security. It is, they say: a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world. In other words, an unstable climate will make the very kinds of tensions and conflicts that the Security Council deals with, day in day out, yet more frequent and even more severe. Now, who, repeat who, amongst what is erroneously known as the ruling elite is capable of heeding all that we read and know? Regrettably all are selfish and all adhere to their individual one point agendas. [email protected]
DAWN APRIL 20, 2007
Letters to the Editor
KEE: a project we can live without
THIS has reference to the Karachi elevated expressway issue which has been covered by news reports in your esteemed daily. There are several lessons that can be learnt from the various other contexts which had built expressways in anticipation of solving traffic problems. Many of those city administrations have already demolished them. The historic city of Boston, Massachusetts, is a prominent mention. An elevated central artery was inaugurated as early as in 1959 to ease the traffic flow. Soon it was realised that it was doing more harm than good. After careful thinking and consequent planning, a massive $14.6 billion project was launched to replace the six-lane elevated highway with an eight- to-10-lane underground tunnel which is regarded as a civil engineering marvel of the present century. Bostonians have since been celebrating the cultural and social union of the city which was separated by an ugly-looking transport corridor. Likewise, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has demolished its Pak East Freeway for similar objectives. In Seoul, South Korea, a 3.7km stretch of expressway has been demolished to revive the cultural activities and spaces on the River Cheonggyecheon edge. Many more examples can be cited. It is most unfortunate that while the other cities are learning from mistakes of yore and rectifying them, we are committing fatal mistakes without even a reason for them. The Karachi elevated expressway is an undesirable project which will ruin the traffic, aesthetics and social structure of this unfortunate city. I hope that the good sense will prevail and the regime will reconsider its decision. DR NOMAN AHMED Department of Architecture & Planning, NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi
(II)
BESIDES your timely editorial, Karachi elevated expressway (April 8), several articles have appeared on the subject recently by eminent experts like Ardeshir Cowasjee, Arif Hasan, Mukhtar Alam, indicating that the project awarded to IJM Malaysian firm without inviting competitive tenders at a cost of $225m, rising to $350m or $500m, is badly flawed. It is claimed to require 142,835 vehicles daily, including cars and heavy trucks, paying Rs20 to 40 per trip, to retrieve the cost in about 20 years. The toll will be taken away in
foreign currency by the investors. Only experts can judge how it compares with debt-servicing the taxpayers will have to pay for a long time. Most of the concerns of the writers include environmental pollution of air, noise, restricting access to sunlight, view, higher congestion at inlet and exit points causing gridlocks, besides accident hazards by heavy trucks, trailers, oil and hazardous cargo tankers, using the elevated expressway, apart from heavy dislocation due to construction activity on roads for several years. The technical, economic and financial feasibility has not been prepared and the route is also not the most congested one, as compared to other routes like TowerSohrab Goth priority #1, Cantonment-Orangi priority #2, Nazimabad-North Karachi priority #3, and forms only priority #4 of the 1991 approved Mass Transit Master Plan. Boston, New York, Seoul, Paris and San Fransisco have dismantled such elevated structures due to similar reasons. This route can be easily served at a fraction of cost, little environmental hazards, by implementing the railways century-old plan to add two more tracks from the KPT to Pipri, with modern signalling, to operate more efficient freight and fast, economical metro rail for commuters, with improved access to stations, helping drastic reduction of cars, the main culprit for congestion. Extra land is available since 1860s. This will permit all the cargo traffic off Karachi roads, easing congestion, besides saving losses of the Pakistan Railways, reducing highway wear, and saving a billion dollars of fuel imports. This has proved that even on other high priority corridors, instead of elevated structures and flyovers, the best option is the basement level subway metro plan of Rapid Transit Cell, presented to the CCI in December 1975, in which the entire construction activity was proposed under the movable rail-mounted ramp-bridge through subway by rail, without affecting road traffic. S. M. Rizvi
2- As far as Development projects are concerns, I can give I am quotation only one project of city nazim with the finance of foreign donors, as it evolves big kicks back. The subject project is famous "elevated expressway on shaharih-e-faisal.
Below are the some of the concerns of the reputed professionals related to the field. Hope after reading that no one will try to hide the corruption of MQM being underway:
The News (10-04-2007)
An elevated hazard
If the City District Government of Karachi is to be believed, the planned Karachi Elevated Expressway, to be built in the city's busy business district, will be the best thing to happen for the country's commercial capital. However, the project has earned the severe disapproval of a wide array of architects, environmentalists, engineers and a section of civil society. Their views, expressed at a public hearing organised by the provincial environmental protection department last week, make eminent sense given that the planned project will see an elevated expressway running along Karachi's primary thoroughfare -- Sharea Faisal -- for 25 kilometres, connecting the central business district with the city's outskirts, to the north of its airport. Not only will its construction cause massive disruption to the city's traffic system -- already close to a mess on any given day -- it will be an environmental nightmare and an aesthetic monstrosity. Besides, the choice of an elevated expressway seems a bit odd since the trend all over the world nowadays seems to rely on relatively more environmentally-friendly approaches such as building a subway or improving the whole system of traffic by greater monitoring and regulation of private vehicles and introduction of alternative forms of transport. In fact, the planned route of this particular project is such that it will mar the view of many of the city's major buildings and neighbourhoods, since many lie on or straddle Sharea Faisal.
If the project does go ahead, it also involves several private sector organisations, including some of the city's leading hotels, parting with some of their land (presumably in exchange for compensation). However, and understandably so, the hotel owners have already objected to the project, saying that the last thing their guests needed was to see a massive concrete structure blocking the view from their room's window. One primary argument being used by the backers of the elevated expressway is that it will bring in foreign investment and presumably the government will not be paying much out of its pocket to fund it. However, this approach by the federal and provincial governments in Pakistan needs to be modified because projects should not be blindly built just because they bring in large amounts of foreign investment. Instead, the environmental and long-term effects of these projects should also be considered when such decisions are made, particularly the views and opinions of all stakeholders, especially those who are to be directly affected by a project's construction and eventual completion. Not only that, in this particular instance, once built, the expressway will charge tolls for use so to say that there will be no cost to the general public is entirely misleading.
As for the environmental impact, the CDGK is almost dismissive of such concerns. Its version of the public hearing, which is available on its website, suggests that a decision has already been made to disregard the concerns expressed by civil society to the project with the hearing portrayed as one where it was successfully shown that the expressway would have no adverse environmental impact. Surely, such a stance does not help and only reveals that the CDGK considers the whole process of conducting an environmental-impact assessment (as required by law and pending whose approval no construction can begin) of the project as nothing more than a formality. Also, the project shows a distinct lack of priorities in that the city does not have a fully functioning solid waste management and garbage collection system and its government has ambitions to make an elevated expressway stretching some 25 kilometres. More consideration needs to be given to all those who have disapproved of this idea. It would be better if Sharea Faisal was left alone and if at all such an expressway, linking the city's port with the highways to its north, is to be built, then there are other routes which will cause less social, environmental and aesthetic harm. Also, alternatives such as making the Karachi Circular Rail functional, exploring other rail options and the much-needed streamlining of the overall system of traffic management need to be considered before any hasty decision is made.
DAWN (April 12, 2007)
The Karachi Elevated Expressway
By Arif Hasan
METRO VOICE
THE Karachi City Government has decided to build an elevated expressway, called the Karachi Elevated Expressway (KEE) from Jinnah Bridge to Quaidabad. The Expressway will pass over Moulvi Tamizzuddin Road, Club Road and Sharea Faisal. is to relieve congestion on Sharea Faisal and provide a fast link between Karachi Port and Port Qasim for port related traffic. The narrowest section of the corridor through which the KEE will pass is from the PIDC to Napier Barracks. This stretch is Karachis potential tourist area and contains its main five star hotels, Gymkhana Club, Sindh Club, Quaid-e-Azam Museum and Napier Barracks (which are heritage buildings). Frere Hall is also in close proximity. In this stretch the KEE will cover almost the entire road width. As required under law an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been carried out by consultants hired by the proponent. The EIA findings are that the adverse affects of the KEE are minor and can be mitigated. At a public hearing on the EIA citizens and professional bodies expressed serious concerns on the concept and design details of the KEE. However, the design details and the financial feasibility are of secondary importance. It is the concept of an elevated expressway through the most prestigious corridor in Karachi that needs to be questioned. The EIA has stated that elevated expressways in other countries have solved traffic problems similar to the ones faced by Sharea Faisal and that there is no other solution to these problems apart from constructing the KEE. This view conflicts sharply with a large body of technical and academic literature on transport engineering and with the experience of a number of cities that have constructed elevated expressways through their city centres. Bangkok, Manila, Tehran, Cairo and Dubai have all constructed scores of kilometres of expressways. These expressways have not solved traffic problems and traffic conditions in these cities are far worse than Karachi. Dubai, which is nearest to us in geographical terms, is grid-locked for six to eight hours a day. No country in the developed world today would ever dream of building an expressway to their city centres because of the environmental and aesthetic degradation that they cause. As a matter of fact, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Seoul and Paris have actually demolished their expressways and turned them into public space or housing.
This demolition has relieved traffic congestion because it has been accompanied by better traffic management, the development of a larger traffic and transportation plan, segregation of local and thorough traffic and/or the building of segregated bus ways which have supported people opting for taking the bus rather than using a car. In our case none of these alternatives have been explored and nor is the KEE a part of a larger traffic and transportation plan. This was recognised by the consultants during the public hearing. There are also financial issues that have not been seriously studied. The investment by a foreign company for the KEE is to be recovered by a toll on vehicles using the KEE. At the hearing we were informed that the traffic volume on Sharea Faisal that would use the KEE was not sufficient for the company to recover their investment. As such, it has been decided to divert all port related traffic onto the KEE in spite of the fact that other options such as the very feasible routes of the Southern and Northern Bypasses are available. So we will now have trucks, container vehicles and tankers plying overhead the Sharea Faisal in addition to encroachment on urban space and the denial of sun light in the narrower confines of our most prestigious corridor. Again, this decision conflicts with experience for cities like Bangkok, Seoul and Manila are trying to limit or ban heavy traffic on their inner city expressways. Boston has demolished the expressway carrying heavy traffic and in Riyadh the pollution of the expressway passing through the city was so heavy that they decided to vacate the areas on either side of it and forest them. In addition, the Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP) has pointed out that for an average toll of Rs 20 per vehicle, 143,835 vehicles per day would be required to use the expressway. Where they will come from is not known. The building of the KEE is an ad-hoc and ill-informed decision. It is the expressed desire of the city government to turn Karachi into a world class city. The building of the expressway will certainly not help in achieving this objective
DAILY TIMES (21- 02- 2007)
19 reasons why Shahra-e-Faisal shouldnt be destroyed by an elevated expressway: IAP
Staff Report
KARACHI: The Institute of Architects Pakistan (IAP) has listed 19 reasons and concerns about the proposed Elevated Expressway (EE) that the CDGK plans to build over the M.T. Khan Road / Shahrah-e-Faisal corridor, according to a press release Tuesday. On Feb 24, the CDGK is holding a briefing on the project at the AKU at 10:30 a.m., the IAPs Amina Nasim Jan told Daily Times.
According to the press release, the architects and planners are not against development; in fact their business thrives with the development in the country but Shahrah-e-Faisal which has been there since before Partition was never designed to support an elevated expressway.
The project proposes to construct a 24km long, 4 lane expressway which will stretch from Jinnah Bridge at Keamari to Quaidabad in Malir. Vehicles will be required to pay a toll. There will be six entry and exit points; Quaidabad, Star Gate, Karsaz, Shahrah-e-Quaideen, Hotel Metropole, and Jinnah Bridge. The EE will be high enough to clear the existing overpasses and will have toll plazas at intermediate levels at the six entry/ exit nodes. There have been very limited public hearings on this project.
Several prominent members of the architectural and engineering communities have expressed their reservations but their concerns have been brushed aside in the rush to initiate this project in the name of development and foreign investment.
The IAP believes that there are several reasons why this project is conceptually flawed and unfeasible: The EE is being developed to ease the current and projected load on Shahrah-e-Faisal. The project does not take into account the alternative route and the relief that will be provided by the Lyari Expressway nor does it consider any different corridors to divert traffic off of Shahrah-e-Faisal.
The EE is proposed to be a high-speed link for freight and passenger traffic between the airport, Karachi Harbour and the Port Qasim. Realistically, there is very limited traffic between the airport and the two ports. Instead there is much greater freight traffic between the ports and the rest of the country, adequately serviced by the Northern Bypass.
It is also not correct to refer to the EE as the Southern Bypass as has been suggested because it bypasses nothing and ploughs through the densest and most valuable real estate in Karachi. The EE also does not service any of the industrial estates of Karachi. There is no direct access to the EE from Korangi, SITE and North Karachi except through residential neighbourhoods. These areas are much better served by the Northern Bypass and the National Highway.
The project proposes to place a limited access high-speed expressway over the alignment of Shahrah-e-Faisal and M.T. Khan Road. This would mean that the expressway would have the same constraints and limitations as Shahrah-e-Faisal and M.T. Khan Road and will hardly allow expressway speeds. For example, the expressway will travel over the Bridge at PIDC, squeeze between Hotel Pearl
Continental and Hotel Sheraton; curve around Hotel Metropole and past Hotel Avari.
By adding the EE, the volume of traffic that can be handled by the Shahrah-e-Faisal corridor may be doubled but the roads leading into Shahrah-e-Faisal and away from it will remain the same. This will create major congestion on roads feeding Shahrah-e-Faisal. An EE is an expensive and inefficient response to the citys traffic problems. When the volume exceeds the capacity of the EE, it will not be possible to widen it. Therefore, this project will have much shorter productive life span than an on-grade highway.
The EE is being proposed as a 4 lane highway with two lanes traveling in either direction (The 6-lanes claimed in CDGK publications includes entry and exit lanes). There is no provision for a shoulder or emergency lane. A breakdown or accident on the expressway will result in traffic jams of monumental proportions, with no escape for vehicles and no access for fire tenders or ambulances except from the six exit points.
The placement of the six entry and exit points is not rationally based on the requirements of the citys traffic but rather on the limited space available for entry and exit ramps and toll plazas. For example, there is no entry or exit at Jinnah Airport. Airport traffic will exit the EE at Star Gate intersection and merge with Shahrah-e-Faisal traffic till the JIA intersection. There is no interchange at either Rashid Minhas Road or FTC. Residents of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and DHA would have to exit earlier and merge with Shahrah-e-Faisal traffic.
The proposed Master Plan 2020 calls for the development of multiple nuclei, i.e. additional business districts at different locations throughout the city to reduce commuting time and pressure on our roads and other resources. The goal of this proposal is to decrease the dependence on Saddar. This is a commendable proposal in the Master Plan. The EE tends to contradict this goal of the Master Plan as it seeks to concentrate more traffic into Saddar. If this money were applied instead to develop a Central Business District in Port Qasim it would open up jobs there and reduce traffic to Saddar.
Lastly, the increase in the number of cars on the roads in Karachi is not a valid justification for the construction of new highways. The city should not be fascinated by the notion of having an elevated expressway as if such a thing is an achievement that heralds Karachis elevation to a mega city. Elevated expressways are usually the failure of urban planning because they indicate that a city has failed to manage its traffic problems through less dense, less expensive, on-grade solutions.
The construction of the EE will ruin one of the most attractive boulevards in Karachi. Trees along Shahrah-e-Faisal will be lost. It will effectively place a roof over the existing roadway, cutting off sunlight and breezes. Anyone wanting to imagine the ambience of the resulting roadway need only stand under the NIPA flyover or the Liaquatabad Flyover and imagine it extending for 24km.
The increased traffic load on the Shahrah-e-Faisal corridor and the construction of the EE will greatly increase the levels of emissions. The expressway perched above Shahrah-e-Faisal will trap pollution and prevent it from dispersing.
The EE passes through the heart of Karachis thriving commercial, business and tourist districts. Much of its length is over Shahrah-e-Faisal which was recently
designated as a corridor for high rise commercial development. After its completion, traffic on the EE will whiz past the third and fourth floor of these buildings. The high walls of these building will create a canyon-like effect which will trap pollution and amplify noise. The EE will obscure the facades of every building that it will cross, greatly hinder peoples access and will depreciate real estate values.
The price tag for the EE has grown from the initial US$225 million through $250 million to $350 million (Rs 21b). Figures much higher than these have been quoted by independent sources. The feasibility of this project depends on the recovery of the cost through tolls.
The EE project is expected to cost $350 million or Rs 21 billion. The developer is expected to recover their investment by collecting tolls from all vehicles over the first 20 years of its life. This means that the operator will need to collect Rs 1,050,000,000 per year or more than Rs 2,876,000 per day. If the average toll per vehicle per trip is set at Rs 20 that would amount to 143,835 cars per day using the expressway. Divided between the six entry/exit points, that amounts to almost 24,000 cars per exit per day or one car every 3.6 seconds. It would seem unlikely that the CDGKs financial claims about this project will be realized. In which case the foreign developer of the project will claim the CDGKs sovereign guarantee. The construction of the EE will cause severe hardship to the residents of Karachi particularly to the businesses located on Shahrah-e-Faisal. The construction time of 30 months appears to be too optimistic considering the usual pace of construction in Pakistan (foreign developer notwithstanding). The CDGK has not shared any plans with the citizens of Karachi on how it plans to achieve these diversion plans during the construction period and which adjacent neighbourhoods will be affected.
Shahrah-e-Faisal is the main access route to the airport and is heavily used for the movement of VVIPs. How will this access be maintained during construction? What diversionary routes will be used for VVIP traffic at added security risks? There have been no public hearing held to discuss this with residents and businesses along the Shahrah-e-Faisal / M.T. Khan Road corridor.
The EE is not the only solution to the traffic problems of Shahrah-e-Faisal. After its completion, The Lyari Expressway will handle a large volume of traffic currently accessing Shahrah-e-Faisal from the north. The IAP proposes two alternatives: develop an on-grade highway along the Malir River bed and; develop the under-construction road through the Korangi Industrial Area into an expressway. Both proposals can be connected laterally across the Malir River to Shahrah-e-Faisal which will provide a natural detour during VVIP movement. This will allow citizens living south of Shahrah-e-Faisal to use this expressway instead. Both proposals can be connected to Karachi Harbour through limited access corridors through DHA.
A global city vs the environment
By Ardeshir Cowasjee
THE entire civilised world is greatly concerned with where the environment is going and the world with it. The dangers facing are massive. As an entity, the government of Pakistan seems to be oblivious and carries on in its own merry way. However, there are a few of us who realise the implications of global warming and all that goes with it. Credit must be given to one of our private television channels which, on Earth Day, April 22, showed an Urdu translation of former US Vice-President Al Gores award winning documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. Gores message is quite simple: if you and I do not reduce and cut back our consumer oriented and environment unfriendly lifestyles, climate change will overwhelm us and bring unpleasant and radical changes in life as we know it. Knowing the calibre of our home-grown politicians, it is doubtful if any of those who regulate our lives have bothered to watch it. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz was given a copy of the documentary by a delegation of civil society groups, spearheaded by the World Wildlife Federation, who met him a month or so ago to discuss the deteriorating water situation in Pakistan. Has he had time to see this documentary? If by some miracle he has seen it, has it made even a small dent in his resolve to transform Karachi the former Pearl of the East, now flooded with katchi abadis, hard hit by electricity load-shedding, drowning in uncollected garbage, stinking with raw sewage which streams directly into the sea into what he terms a world-class global city? The world-class global city (a concrete unlivable jungle poisoned by pollution) mantra of the federal government has been taken up by the Defence Housing Society of Karachi which is hell-bent on the construction of a 14-kilometer Waterfront Development Project along a public beach that does not belong to it, which will cater to the rich and infamous and be totally awam-unfriendly. On alternate Sunday evenings, concerned citizens have organised demonstrations on the beach road (near McDonalds) which so far have had no impact. The Sindh Environmental Protection Agency continues to ignore the environmental impact assessment of the conversion of the shoreline as ordered by the Sindh High Court. Get-rich-quick schemes are infectious in Karachi, as in all other cities of this blighted country. The concept of beach exploitation, with the prime ministerial blessings, has been picked up by the Dubai-based limitless which proposes to develop a new 68,000 acres city along the Manora, Sandspit, Hawkesbay and French beaches, stretching inland to occupy the coastal fishing villages, KDA Scheme 45 and even PAF Masroor base. An amazing presentation of this Karachi Waterfront can be downloaded from http://www.youtube.com Then we have our local government and its schemes for various elevated expressways, in
particular the one planned to run 24 kilometres from Jinnah Bridge to Quaidabad to which numerous groups and concerned citizens have objected (my column of April 8). The government has heeded some objections. Land is not to be taken away from the Karachi Gymkhana or the posh hotels or the Christian cemetery, all of which lie along its route, and the existing rights of way will be used. A committee of experts (mandatory under the Environmental Act 1997) is being formed to review public comments. The City District Government has cleverly sidestepped several issues raised. Why has a $ 350 million contract been awarded without competitive tendering? What are the financial details of the somewhat murky annuity-based BOT? How does the expressway fit in with the overall traffic management plans for the city? Why is the administration not first tackling the massive violations of traffic rules, unlawful parking, encroachments on our roads, and many other traffic planning-related issues? Why are public/mass transport systems not being given priority? Why is inter-port (Karachi Port Trust/Port Qasim) traffic not being conducted by an economically more sound railway system? Lending credence to the fact that the elevated expressway is already a fait accompli (finders fees have already reportedly been paid), and that the Environmental Impact Assessment is but a window-dressing in pretence of complying with the law, is the fact that the City District Government parks officer, Liaquat Ali Khan of the silken outfits, a couple of weeks ago started chopping and transplanting some 2,000 trees from the centre portion of Sharea Faisal. The Japanese care about the environment and they apparently care more about Karachi than its administration. They are prepared to give us funds to build five steel bridges in the city (runs into billions of rupees) but only if we first conduct an environmental impact assessment. Unlike the City District Government, they do not believe that an EIA is a professional study only professionals should be allowed to participate in professional discussion (a quote from the CDGK response to the Institute of Architects, Pakistan, on the subject of the elevated expressway). At the end of last month, the press reported extensively on the signing of an implementation agreement for a $ 160 million landmark project being set up at Port Qasim, Karachi, that will allow natural gas imports into Pakistan for the first time in the countrys history. The project comprises a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) re-gasification terminal being set up by Excelerate Energy of Texas, USA, for Pakistan Gasport Limited, a local company whose principal sponsor is the Associated Group, the largest single producer of LPG in Pakistan. The project envisions the berthing of a re-gasification vessel which will be charged through smaller LNG carriers coming up the Korangi Creek, past residential localities, fishing villages and other port traffic. The re-gasification process will convert the liquid gas to high-pressure gas on board the ship and deliver it directly into the Sui Southern Gas Company Limited network. Such a process has numerous environmental downsides, and is fraught with the hazard of an LNG leak forming a vapour cloud whose explosion and fire could destroy habitations and structures many miles away (download LNG Vapour Cloud Danger to our Communities at http://timrileylaw.com to verify the perils).
It may be of interest to the citizens of Karachi to know that the California Coastal Commission unanimously rejected a proposed $ 800 million Cabrillo Port 72-million gallon floating LNG terminal approximately 14 miles off the coast of Malibu. The final environmental impact statement for the project acknowledges that it will cause significant impact to air and water quality, public safety, marine wildlife, views, recreation, noise and agriculture impacts that cannot be mitigated or avoided. Residents of coastal California have been lobbying for months against the venture. The citizens of Boston are fighting to end the dangerous passage (commercial traffic, roads and bridges are closed during this time) of LNG tankers into Bostons inner harbour. These LNG tankers have been termed floating bombs vulnerable to terrorist action. Excelerate Energy is now constructing a deepwater port 12 miles outside Cape Ann in Massachusetts (outside US territorial waters). Why cant our gas port be built far away from human habitation? A Japanese-type environmental impact assessment needs to be conducted for the entire project. It should be clear that many of the tensions and conflicts that exist in Pakistan are related to environmental problems generated by islands of prosperity in oceans of poverty, to quote from an address made by President General Pervez Musharraf in February this year. As is being increasingly perceived around the world, especially in the European Union, climate change, brought about by destruction of the environment and progressive decimation of living species, is no longer merely an economic or environmental issue. Margaret Beckett, the first woman foreign secretary of the UK, recently stated, Anyone wanting to trace the links between what science is telling us about physical impacts and the broader ramifications for our security would do well to read a startling report that appeared last Monday. The Military Advisory Board is a group of the most respected retired Admirals and Generals in the United States. . . . They are about as far as you can get from the old stereotype of a tree-hugging environmentalist. And yet in that report they state, categorically, that projected climate change poses a serious threat to Americas national security. It is, they say: a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world. In other words, an unstable climate will make the very kinds of tensions and conflicts that the Security Council deals with, day in day out, yet more frequent and even more severe. Now, who, repeat who, amongst what is erroneously known as the ruling elite is capable of heeding all that we read and know? Regrettably all are selfish and all adhere to their individual one point agendas. [email protected]
DAWN APRIL 20, 2007
Letters to the Editor
KEE: a project we can live without
THIS has reference to the Karachi elevated expressway issue which has been covered by news reports in your esteemed daily. There are several lessons that can be learnt from the various other contexts which had built expressways in anticipation of solving traffic problems. Many of those city administrations have already demolished them. The historic city of Boston, Massachusetts, is a prominent mention. An elevated central artery was inaugurated as early as in 1959 to ease the traffic flow. Soon it was realised that it was doing more harm than good. After careful thinking and consequent planning, a massive $14.6 billion project was launched to replace the six-lane elevated highway with an eight- to-10-lane underground tunnel which is regarded as a civil engineering marvel of the present century. Bostonians have since been celebrating the cultural and social union of the city which was separated by an ugly-looking transport corridor. Likewise, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has demolished its Pak East Freeway for similar objectives. In Seoul, South Korea, a 3.7km stretch of expressway has been demolished to revive the cultural activities and spaces on the River Cheonggyecheon edge. Many more examples can be cited. It is most unfortunate that while the other cities are learning from mistakes of yore and rectifying them, we are committing fatal mistakes without even a reason for them. The Karachi elevated expressway is an undesirable project which will ruin the traffic, aesthetics and social structure of this unfortunate city. I hope that the good sense will prevail and the regime will reconsider its decision. DR NOMAN AHMED Department of Architecture & Planning, NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi
(II)
BESIDES your timely editorial, Karachi elevated expressway (April 8), several articles have appeared on the subject recently by eminent experts like Ardeshir Cowasjee, Arif Hasan, Mukhtar Alam, indicating that the project awarded to IJM Malaysian firm without inviting competitive tenders at a cost of $225m, rising to $350m or $500m, is badly flawed. It is claimed to require 142,835 vehicles daily, including cars and heavy trucks, paying Rs20 to 40 per trip, to retrieve the cost in about 20 years. The toll will be taken away in
foreign currency by the investors. Only experts can judge how it compares with debt-servicing the taxpayers will have to pay for a long time. Most of the concerns of the writers include environmental pollution of air, noise, restricting access to sunlight, view, higher congestion at inlet and exit points causing gridlocks, besides accident hazards by heavy trucks, trailers, oil and hazardous cargo tankers, using the elevated expressway, apart from heavy dislocation due to construction activity on roads for several years. The technical, economic and financial feasibility has not been prepared and the route is also not the most congested one, as compared to other routes like TowerSohrab Goth priority #1, Cantonment-Orangi priority #2, Nazimabad-North Karachi priority #3, and forms only priority #4 of the 1991 approved Mass Transit Master Plan. Boston, New York, Seoul, Paris and San Fransisco have dismantled such elevated structures due to similar reasons. This route can be easily served at a fraction of cost, little environmental hazards, by implementing the railways century-old plan to add two more tracks from the KPT to Pipri, with modern signalling, to operate more efficient freight and fast, economical metro rail for commuters, with improved access to stations, helping drastic reduction of cars, the main culprit for congestion. Extra land is available since 1860s. This will permit all the cargo traffic off Karachi roads, easing congestion, besides saving losses of the Pakistan Railways, reducing highway wear, and saving a billion dollars of fuel imports. This has proved that even on other high priority corridors, instead of elevated structures and flyovers, the best option is the basement level subway metro plan of Rapid Transit Cell, presented to the CCI in December 1975, in which the entire construction activity was proposed under the movable rail-mounted ramp-bridge through subway by rail, without affecting road traffic. S. M. Rizvi
