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JULY
2008
ISSUES:
The
Proposed Densification of Karachi
From
press reports, a number of emails and visits from fellow architects, I
gather that the government of Sindh has decided to get the KBCA to
revise its building byelaws and zoning regulations to increase Floor
Area Ratios (or FAR as they are called) all over Karachi in general and
in the business and commercial districts in particular. A report in the
press also mentions that the Chief Minister favours the construction of
even 100 storey buildings in Karachi!
In
layman’s language FAR lays down the area one can construct on a plot
of land. For example, if FAR is 1:6 then on 1,000 square yards one can
construct six times the plot area (or 6,000 square yards) and the
building can be any number of storeys, unless under the byelaws, there
is a height restriction.
The
reason that is being given for increasing FAR is that its increase will
make investment in building and real estate more attractive. It is hoped
that this step will also led to foreign investment and reverse the trend
of a decline in the real estate and construction business. However, it
has to be understood that the real reason for this decline has less to
do with a low density FAR and more to do with political uncertainty, a
looming economic crisis, lucrative opportunities in the UAE for real
estate investments, and graft, corruption and complicated and time
consuming procedures in getting building approvals.
Increasing
FAR means the increasing of densities. It can be argued that Karachi is
a low density sprawl as compared to other mega-cities, except for
certain areas of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Lyari Town and certain parts of
Liaquatabad. The later two have high densities in complete violation of
building byelaws and zoning regulations. It is also true that large low
density decentralised cities, especially large ones like Karachi, have
comparatively expensive to operate and difficult to manage transport
systems and utilities. Also, transport systems in such cities are less
likely to be efficient as compared to high density centralised cities.
An
increase in density means an increase in the number of persons living or
working per unit of area (which in our case is calculated per acre).
This increase requires a corresponding increase in infrastructure in
terms of water, sewage and electricity. It can be argued that this can
be augmented overtime as has been done in many other cities of the
world. However, it is difficult to understand how we will manage this
given the financial and managerial constraints faced by our planning and
implementation agencies and the absence of political will and a
consensus between the different actors in our urban drama to overcome
these constraints.
However,
the increase in density means an increase in vehicular and pedestrian
traffic and it requires additional road space and improved transport
systems. The question therefore is how much more traffic can the
existing road network in the areas which the KBCA wishes to densify take
(if it all), before clogging them up completely? Also, can the existing
transport system take care of the additional number of people that will
move in and out of the densified areas or will they remain stranded on
the roads for hours? If available data is to be believed (and there is
no reason why it should not be). Karachi’s central business district (CBD)
at present requires transport systems that can cater to at least 20,000
passengers per hour. This can only be provided by segregated light rail,
metro or through bus rapid transit systems. At present, Karachi’s
transport system in the CBD caters to no more than 3,000 to 4,000
persons per hour and is under increasing pressure. Therefore, increasing
FAR has to be accompanied by the building of high capacity mass transit
systems in the transport sector and improved traffic management. The
provision of appropriate transport systems to cater to high densities
will require at least a decade to plan and complete after decisions
regarding them are taken.
Normally,
questions related to densification and the nature of linkages it
requires with transport and utilities are determined by an urban design
exercise which takes place as part of the structure or development plan
for the city. Such an exercise is carried out separately for different
area. For Karachi’s commercial districts, this would require at least
a year of work (after TOR have been developed and consultants appointed)
and another six months of analysis and stakeholder consultation before
byelaws can be framed and may be another few months before they become
law. From the looks of it this process will not be followed and ad-hoc
decisions will be taken as they have been taken in the past. It is
therefore suggested that the increase in FAR that the politicians are
seeking should be determined (if an urban design exercise is not
politically possible) on the number of vehicles that an area can
accommodate and the existing transport facilities of that area. These
two things are not difficult to calculate and the city government has
very competent planners and technocrats who are capable of doing this
and more.
Since
byelaws are being revised for the business districts as well, it is
essential that at least 30 per cent or even more of all built up area
should be reserved for residential accommodation. This is because of two
reasons. One, it will reduce the use of cars and public transport if
persons working in the area also live there. And two, the area will not
die at night as it does today and in the process expensive
infrastructure and utilities are not fully utilised.
Cities
that have grown without proper urban design exercises and hence or
without rational FAR controls during their periods of economic growth
and investments, like Bangkok and Manila in the 80’s and 90’s, have
immense traffic and transport related problems which even mass transit
systems, building of scores of kilometres of expensive expressways and
signal-free roads have not been able to overcome. Karachi must not be
allowed to suffer such a fate. We still have time.
(By
Arif Hasan, Dawn-7, 19/07/2008)
Shershah
bridge reconstruction contract okayed: No action against ‘culprits’
Although
the government has so far failed to penalise anyone for criminal
negligence or culpability in last year’s collapse of Shershah Bridge,
it has awarded a Rs274 million contract for the reconstruction of the
structure.
The responsible parties have neither been identified nor prosecuted
despite the completion of the inquiry into the September 1 incident,
when the 70-metre Baldia loop of the bridge collapsed a mere 20 days
after having been inaugurated by President Pervez Musharraf.
Meanwhile, the executive board of the National Highways Authority (NHA)
recently approved a Rs274.33 million bid to start construction next
month, said senior officials in the ministry of communications and
sources close to the formalities.
“The approved bid was the lowest amongst those received in response to
the tender issued by the NHA for the reconstruction of Shershah Bridge,”
said a source. “The work is likely to start in the third week of
August and should be completed within nine months, according to the
terms of reference of the contract.”
The source informed Dawn that land near Paracha Mills was being acquired
in line with the directives of the Sindh High Court at a total cost of
Rs63 million, including expenses for the relocation of silos, and this
sum had already been paid by the government. “The land was to be
vacated and handed over to the NHA within 120 days of the payment being
made, and more than 45 days have already elapsed since the sum was
handed over,” he added.
Govt silent on inquiry
findings
Over
half a dozen people were killed when the Baldia loop collapsed, while
dozens of others remained trapped in the mangled mass of concrete for
over seven hours before being rescued. The tragedy also brought to a
dead halt the Rs3.5 billion-plus Northern Bypass project.
Despite the gravity of the incident and its implications, the government
has not made public the findings of experts deputed to investigate the
reasons behind the collapse. While officials confirm that the ministry
of communications has received the final report of the inquiry ordered
by the president and the prime minister within hours of the tragedy,
this has not been made public and the government appears very far from
taking action against the responsible parties.
“We have received the report, and it does identify the quarters
responsible for the tragedy,” said the secretary communications,
Saifullah Khan Sherwani. “We are considering the findings and the
action to be taken against the people or organisations involved. The
government will decide whether or not to make the report public,” he
told Dawn, refusing to elaborate on the government’s intentions. While
he added that the inquiry report put most of the blame on a private
consultant who finalised a faulty, geometrically inaccurate design for
the structure, he could offer no justification about the delay in
penalising the consultant.
Plea
to involve the public
Independent
construction and architecture experts believe that as a confidence
building measure, the government must make the inquiry findings public.
“The report should be made public,” said architect and city planner
Arif Hasan when approached by Dawn. “I could have commented on the
issue if I had known what the findings were.” He suggested that the
citizenry’s involvement during the finalisation of mega-projects would
make the process more transparent, saying that “there should be public
participation in even the appointment of consultants for major projects.”
Aside from the government’s silence over the parties responsible for
the collapse of Shershah Bridge’s Baldia loop, the imminent
reconstruction of the structure is generally being viewed as a positive
move, particularly by the business and industrial communities.
“Traffic to and from the industrial area became a big issue after the
bridge collapse, and snarls became routine,” said Nazim F. Haji, the
Sindh coordinator for the Peoples’ Business Forum which recently took
up the issue with the ministry of communications. According to Mr Haji,
the forum asked the ministry to direct the NHA to start immediate work
on the temporary carpeting of the affected area, so that a proper
diversionary road could be provided to mitigate inconvenience.
(By
Imran Ayub, Dawn-17, 25/07/2008)
Traffic
woes continue to plague motorists despite efforts
City
District Government Karachi (CDGK) and the traffic police have taken
measures to improve the traffic flow on a few important and busy
thoroughfares in the city. The changes made on these roads have brought
about some improvements in the traffic.
The CDGK has installed barricades on I. I. Chundrigar Road to resist the
random turning of vehicles that cause traffic gridlocks. The traffic
police have declared it a no-parking zone and to some extent, proper
implementation is also being carried out. As a result, things have
improved on this highly busy road. Gridlocks and jams used to be an
everyday sight but proper planning and its enforcement have changed the
situation.
Similarly, the traffic police and the CDGK have blocked the right
turning on the Muhammad Ali Society intersection for vehicular traffic
and made it signal-free for the traffic on Sharea Faisal. That also
resulted in easing out the traffic congestion at this intersection.
Recently, the traffic police declared the road behind the Civil Hospital
Karachi as one-way to ease out the traffic congestion on the same.
However, it would be too early to comment if this exercise has produced
better results.
The city government, Pakistan Steel (PS) and Karachi Port Trust (KPT)
has also built several flyovers and underpasses that have helped in
maintaining the traffic flow. It is commendable that these agencies have
brought some improvement in the traffic situation of the metropolis but
at the same time one should question them for ignoring the city’s
outskirts where heavy vehicles cause severe traffic jams frequently. For
example, a large number of commuters have to undergo hectic traffic jams
on Mauripur Road, especially near the Gulbai Weigh Bridge. Traffic
police is totally helpless at this point since heavy vehicles driven on
this road cause hurdles for the traffic flow which at times takes hours
to clear up. Despite being reported in local newspapers several times,
no arrangements have been made to streamline the traffic flow.
Moving further on to Hawkes Bay Road, the situation becomes even worse
due to the poor infrastructure and unavailability of policemen along the
long stretch of the road. If a vehicle breaks down on the narrow road,
it is easy to foresee that the resultant traffic jam on the narrow road
would be a massive one.
Similarly, the uncontrolled movement of these heavy vehicles frequently
causes prolonged traffic gridlocks at the Dawood Chowrangi in the Landhi
Industrial Area. Due to the dilapidated condition of the main road
beyond that round about, heavy vehicles frequently use the Dawood
Chowrangi Railway Crossing Bridge instead of running through the
industrial zone. The drivers bribe the policemen with Rs20 to Rs30 at
the roundabout to let them change their route. The failures of the city
government to provide them with proper infrastructure and the
malpractices of traffic sergeants have both made the intersection a
traffic nuisance.
The railway crossing bridge which is under maintenance at present has
been damaged severely due to the movement of heavy vehicles. It is also
worth mentioning here that last year a taxi driver died after a
container fell off an unfit trailer on this very bridge which does not
allow these heavy vehicles. The main reason why heavy vehicles choose to
use the railway crossing bridge is that the civic authorities have not
completed the construction of the bridge in the Bin Qasim industrial
zone which leads to the Manzar Pump National Highway (the original route
for heavy vehicles). These heavy vehicles play an important role in the
economic activities of the city and then ultimately, the country. The
companies operating in these areas pay high taxes, but even then the
infrastructure has not improved to the desired level. As a result, these
heavy vehicles have no option but to ply on roads and bridges that have
not been built for them, or create traffic disorders due to the
unavailability of truck stands and the dilapidated conditions of the
roads.
(By
Farooq Baloch, The News-19, 08/07/2008)
No
check on activities of illegal hydrants
A
large number of private hydrants operating illegally in various parts of
the city are selling subsoil unhygienic water to the residents of
water-deficient pockets while over three dozen hydrants using
unauthorised connections from the KWSB water trunk mains are providing
piped water to their clients.
The act of acquiring connections from water trunk mains on the part of
the owners of these illegal hydrants not only amounted to water theft
and damage to the major pipelines but was also posing a threat to the
citizens’ health as the possibilities of contamination could not be
ruled out owing to the sewage seeping into the trunk mains through their
punctured portions from where the hydrants had acquired connections,
well-placed sources in the water utility told Dawn.
Referring to a survey undertaken by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board
(KWSB), sources said that there were more than 80 illegal hydrants,
which were selling subsoil unhygienic water to the residents of various
water-starved localities mainly because they were situated near the
embankments of both the Lyari and Malir rivers while around 40 hydrants
hooked to trunk mains were operating at Manghopir, Landhi, Korangi and
Sohrab Goth.
Most of the private hydrants doing boring water business are located at
Pak Colony, Malir, Korangi, Orangi, Shershah and Baldia.
Admitting that owners of private tankers have managed to get
unauthorised connections from different trunk mains allegedly in
connivance with the relevant officials of the KWSB and the area police,
sources said that these illegal hydrants were causing losses to the KWSB
by damaging its trunk mains and stealing its water and on the other hand
posing a risk to the health of those people whose localities were being
supplied with water from these trunk mains.
They further said that the hydrants’ act of stealing water from the
trunk mains also affected the normal pressure in the pipelines. “Despite
the fact that the city’s water distribution system which is, on an
average, 40 to 45-years-old and in an advanced stage of disrepair, is
only pressurized for a few hours a day and the continuous pressurization
and depressurization already often results in increased wear and tear on
the pipes,” they said. They said that thousands of tankers drawing
water from all these illegal hydrants were also causing extensive damage
to the roads and on the other hand often found indulging in rash and
negligent driving, resulting in fatal accidents.
Action planned
When
asked about the measures taken by the water utility against these
illegal hydrants, the sources said that since their previous attempts to
close down all these illegal hydrants had not yielded results as they
reappeared after some time, the authorities had now decided to select
some sites for setting up its own police stations so that an effective
action could be taken against them.
In this regard, they disclosed that the KWSB authorities would soon
request the Sindh minister for local government to help the KWSB in
getting permission from the provincial home department for the
establishment of its owns police stations or police kiosks at all those
places where illegal hydrants were operating.
(Dawn-18,
02/07/2008)
55,000
out of 160,000 immigrants in Pakistan registered in Karachi
Approximately
160,000 illegal immigrants, including their dependents, have been
registered across Pakistan by the National Aliens Registration Authority
(NARA). Out of these, 55,000 are in Karachi, NARA Additional Deputy
Director Syed Nayab Hasan Zaidi told The News.
Unofficial estimates suggest that out of an estimated 3.35 million
illegal immigrants in Pakistan, 1.88 million can be found in Karachi.
These immigrants belong to 79 different countries, including Australia,
Canada, China, France, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa,
Switzerland, the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates, and
other countries in Asia and Africa.
A majority of them, however, are from Bangladesh. Out of a total of
48,000 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in Pakistan, 46,000 are in Karachi
alone.
Afghans form the second largest proportion of immigrants. Zaidi believes
NARA is “an especially good thing” for Bangladeshis in particular.
“If Bangladeshi immigrants get themselves registered, they will be
allowed to apply for Pakistani nationality under the 1978 ordinance,”
he said. Headed by the Minister of Interior, NARA was founded in 2000 to
enable illegal immigrants to get themselves registered in the country.
According to Zaidi, the rate of registering immigrants has gone up by 35
percent since February 2007.
Once immigrants are registered, they are issued an Alien Registration
Card (ARC), allowing them to have their own bank accounts and conduct
businesses and have the same wages as local people.
Zaidi went on to highlight the importance of collecting information on
all illegal immigrants on record. If this is not done, illegal
immigrants can, for example, use facilities such as electricity, water
and sewerage connections, but without paying any taxes. Even more
importantly, unregistered people involved in crime are impossible to
track down.
This has reportedly happened in the past. Zaidi said that NARA was also
attempting to register alien students at madressahs, but lamented the
lack of cooperation on the part of madressah administrations, despite
the fact that there an estimated 75 to 80 percent of the students there
are illegal immigrants.
(By
M. Zeeshan Azmat, The News-14, 3/07/2008)
Government
will repent the privatization of KESC, says MD
The government needs to stabilize power tariffs for at least two to
three years and focus on future power projects, utilizing coal reserves
and exploring oil reserves, said former Senator Taj Haider, while
addressing engineers and members of the civil society at a seminar on
the “Power Crisis of Karachi and Its Solution”.
The Institute of Engineers, Pakistan (IEP), Karachi Centre, and the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Pakistan (IEEEP),
Karachi Centre jointly organized the seminar.
“We have enough nuclear fuel available in the country to export to
foreign countries. Two of Pakistan’s provinces, Sindh and Balochistan,
are abundant in natural gas, coal and oil and can fulfill the country’s
energy needs for centuries, therefore we need to develop projects that
we can operate on our own,” said Haider.
He said that the Sindh Coal Development Authority has been established
within three months of the Pakistan Peoples Party’s government coming
into power and informed the house that a suggestion has also been
submitted to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani that since Sindh has
huge oil, gas and coal reserves, there should be an independent energy
authority to explore, use and export energy sources to neighboring
countries, with the first priority being the export of coal to India.
Haider was critical of the use of Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
systems, stating that although these provide continuous power supply
during hours of load shedding, they add an extra load on the Karachi
Electric Supply Company (KESC) grid when being recharged. He requested
industrialists of the city to establish coal- or gas-operated captive
power generation plants at all industrial sites of the city, as it will
help in overcoming the economic crisis and improve Pakistan’s ability
to compete in the international market.
Talking to Daily Times, former Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry
President Majeed Aziz said that the ongoing power crisis will not let up
before 2009, as KESC is subject to no accountability. “The handover of
KESC to a foreign company was a pre-planned move to keep the local
private sector away from the power sector. However, the utility was sold
out to foreign hands without ascertaining whether they were capable of
running it. The foreign owners also sold out the company’s shares four
times but the government turned a blind eye. When the situation spiraled
out of control, they sold the shares to Abraj Capital, a good company,
and I am positive that Abraj can improve the situation,” said Aziz. He
said that the government has been sleeping for the past three years and
only now has the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority asked KESC
to submit a detailed report, within 7 days, on possible steps to improve
the power situation. “However, the seven members appointed to the
committee do not have the technical knowledge to resolve these issues,”
claimed Aziz.
KESC Managing Director Tanzeem Hussein Naqvi said that the government
will regret its decision to force the utility to bear heavy financial
deficits, in order to create grounds for privatization. “I applied my
past experience to control the escalating losses and replaced 170,000
faulty meters, gaining around Rs 5 billion,” said Naqvi.
IEP Chairman Sami Ashraf said that a dependable power supply is
essential for economic growth. According to Ashraf, it is due to
mismanagement and the lack of proper technical expertise, rather than
lack of resources, that the KESC has obsolete and faulty power
generation units and cited the example of the Hub Power Company (HUBCO)
units which, although 12 years old, are operating smoothly. He also
criticized KESC’s priority to operate power units through furnace oil,
as oil prices are constantly fluctuating.
Wali Jan, an engineer, said that the government proposed a Rs 1 billion
campaign to distribute energy savers throughout the country but the
World Bank refused to loan the money. As it is, the campaign would have
only saved 1.3 percent power, which is a minute amount. “Using private
generators is not the solution as many factors have to be taken into
account. Firstly, the cost of a 7.0 kVA generator is around Rs 90,000
and the fitting charges are around Rs 12,000. On top of that, the cost
of petrol comes to around Rs 25 per KW/h, therefore, it will be much
more beneficial if one contributed Rs 11,000 to KESC for commercial
power supply as this will help the utility to overcome its financial
crisis and consumers will enjoy continuous power supply,” said Jan.
IEEEP Chief Executive Engineer Tahir Saleem stressed the need for KESC
to improve its power supply, as it was causing tremendous losses. He
explained that the rectangular supply of voltage provokes a 20 percent
increase in losses, while voltage with THDV causes 10 percent losses,
transformer problems cause 10 to 15 percent losses, degradation of
generators cause 10 percent and overloading of non-linear
characteristics cause 30 percent losses.
Ahmed Kamran, a banker, said that the KESC has a lot of potential as a
profit-making company. According to him, the utility has around 22,000
industrial, 425,000 commercial and 1.5 million domestic consumers. He
also informed this correspondent that the increase in power demand is
around 7 to 8 percent per year.
“In the past, federal governments summoned bankers to Islamabad and
threatened them to provide the KESC with loans or face disconnection and
reopening of tax files. However, bankers were able to threaten them back
as the government has always been a defaulter of the KESC and if this
news made its way into international financial newspapers, it would have
been a great embarrassment for the government,” said Kamran.
(By
Irfan Aligi, DailyTimes-B1, 25/07/2008)
Rupee’s
plunge swells external debt by $5.4bn
Pakistan’s
economy has to bear a $5.4 billion increase in external debt as a result
of rupee’s depreciation against world’s major currencies. This came
due to mismanagement on the part of government’s economic planners as
they neither hedged the currency nor took risk management measures, The
News has learnt. Due to this huge rise in liabilities, the country’s
external debt during July-March 2007-08 increased to $44.6 billion.
Interestingly, this huge increase was not because of increased borrowing
from external sources but was due to negligence of the economic
policy-makers. Ironically, the finance ministry’s Debt Office,
established for risk management associated with government borrowing,
has not adequate experts. The risk management side of the Debt Office is
manned by two financial analysts and both reportedly lack expertise in
the subject or exposure to financial markets.
The irony is that the economy has to absorb a double blow in the shape
of rupee depreciation against the US dollar and the greenback losing
value against world’s major currencies like Japanese yen, euro and
others which multiplied the burden. Economic pundits believe that with
one rupee appreciation in the US dollar, Pakistan’s external debt
increases by Rs45 billion. It is interesting to note that during fiscal
year 2007-08, the greenback appreciated against the rupee by more than
seven rupees.
Dollar depreciation against major world currencies was also worsening
the country’s debt position and piling up the stock of external debt
in dollar terms.
Pakistan’s external debt is contracted and thus denominated in
multiple currencies but for accounting purposes, it is reported in
equivalent US dollars. Thus, shifts in cross exchange rates among
various currencies, especially against the dollar, are translated into
changes in the dollar value of the outstanding stock of external debt.
Though the government was experiencing a huge current account deficit
and each month it was rising by more than a billion dollars and there
was strong anticipation of rupee depreciation against major currencies,
the government was unaware of its implications on the debt stock or made
no efforts to manage it. During July-May 2007-08, the current account
deficit stood at an all-time high of $13.38 billion (about 7.8 per cent
of the GDP).
It is also interesting to note that the government was also noticing
huge twin deficits (current and budget deficit) of the US economy and it
was projected that the dollar would shed value against hard currencies
like Japanese yen, euro, SDR and others.
On the other hand, economic managers of the government did not assess
its impact on the local economy and especially on external payments and
debt or had no experience to manage the hit on the economy.
In the inter-bank market, the rupee depreciated against the dollar by
Rs7.69 or (12.67 per cent) for buying and selling at Rs68.40 and Rs68.45
as compared to the corresponding period last year when the dollar stood
at Rs60.72 (buying) and Rs60.74 (selling).
In
the open market, it depreciated by Rs7.65 (12.56 per cent) against the
US dollar during the period under review at Rs68.55 and Rs68.70 against
Rs60.90 and Rs60.99 in the last fiscal.
During July-March 2007-08, total disbursements amounted to $2.065
billion and repayment of principal was $878 million. The net impact of
these two factors increased the stock of public and publicly guaranteed
debt by $1.187 billion.
The rest of the net addition of $4.163 billion in the total addition in
the external debt stock of $5.4 billion was the result of depreciation
of the US dollar against hard currencies like Japanese yen, euro, SDR
and others.
Pakistan benefited from the exchange rate fluctuations for many years in
the past, particularly when major currencies were depreciating against
the dollar. Unfortunately, in FY 2007-08, Pakistan was on the receiving
end.
During these nine months, the US dollar depreciated against the Japanese
yen, euro and SDR by 18.7 per cent, 14.9 per cent and 8.2 percent,
respectively. Thus the exchange rate movements during the period have
caused changes in the reported US dollar equivalent amount of $4.2
billion while net new disbursement impact was just $1.2 billion.
The outstanding stock in yen alone witnessed a rise of $2.2 billion
because of massive appreciation of yen against the US dollar. The
exchange rate variation in the euro cost an additional $915 million to
the external debt.
(By
Israr Khan, The News-15, 09/07/2008)
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