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JULY
2009
ISSUES:
KESC
projects on the back burner
KARACHI
experienced the worst-ever power breakdown for almost 36 hours, on June
17-18, as electricity generation, transmission and distribution systems
came to a standstill.
Civic life, trade, industry and transport etc were paralysed. Millions
braced daily 6-8 hours load-shedding and frequent power outages.
The KESC blamed the thunderstorm that hit PEPCO’s Jamshoro-Dadu and
Jamshoro-Hub 500kv transmission lines, for the blackout. However, PEPCO
in turn, criticised the utility for the absence of any reliable back-up
system. The reality is that the existing electricity transmission and
distribution systems are outdated and inefficient.
Basically the power crisis is an outcome of the utility firm’s
inaction to improve its infrastructure that, once again, highlights the
non-transparent KESC privatisation. The ownership and management have
changed hands a number of times unauthorisedly to the disadvantage of
the consumers. The government is not effectively monitoring the KESC’s
performance and ignoring agreements it had signed with the private
sector owners on divestment and transfer of management.
According to the Implementation Agreement, the KESC was committed to
invest more than $800 million in three years-from July 2006 to June
2009, which would have resulted in the turnaround of the company too.
The capital investment programme had three major components:
* Rehabilitation, augmentation and expansion of the existing
transmission and distribution infrastructure;
* Rehabilitation, revamping and up-gradation of the existing power
generation capacity at Bin Qasim power plant, and;
*Creating an additional power generation capacity of 795 MW, by
installing gas-fired combined cycle power plants at Korangi (220 MW) and
at Bin Qasim (575 MW).
The KESC had announced its plans in July 2006 to undertake overhaul of
the entire power transmission and distribution system and service lines
network and to set up new power plants. The company has not been able to
achieve any significant milestone by the end of programme period ending
June 2009.
In the first phase, 11kv cables were to be replaced and 13 new grid
stations to be set up and existing grid stations were to be improved.
The system improvement plan was initiated by the government in 2004,
having allocated Rs22 billion. The government however had agreed, as per
provisions of the Implementation Agreement, to provide to the KESC an
amount of Rs10 billion as first installment of 2006-07. The new owners
of the KESC were required to contribute additional Rs3 billion towards
implementation of this component of the development plan.
Only two new grid stations have been completed, whereas work on another
two is in hand. Even land for the remaining new grid stations have not
be purchased. Again, only partial replacement of 11kv cables and
distribution transformers and installation of new capacitors in limited
areas has been carried out. The company announced in July 2008 that
agreements were being signed with contractors to upgrade existing
transmission and distribution systems. There has been no further
progress in spite of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) extending $150
million loan in June 2007 for the purpose.
Likewise, rehabilitation and upgradation of the existing power
generation capacity at Bin Qasim power plant could not be undertaken
properly. The maintenance of various units of Bin Qasim has
deteriorated, resulting in frequent tripping, and sometimes shut down of
the units. A few units were retired, creating substantial shortfall in
power generation capacity. A sum of Rs12 billion was to be invested by
the KESC management in financial year 2006-07 for creating additional
power generation capacity as per plan. There was no progress on the
construction of 220-MW new power plant at the existing Korangi
facilities for long for which the EPC contract was signed with a Greek
company in January 2007. The International Finance Corporation had
offered $125 million loan to the KESC for its construction. The plant
was rescheduled to be operational by March 2008 but yet not fully
commissioned. The combined cycle project, consisting of General Electric’s
four gas turbines of 48-MW capacity each and one steam turbine of 28 MW,
has been further delayed. Currently, the plant is operating partially,
in simple-cycle mode, generating 144 MW of electricity.
Tendering process for the gas-fired combined cycle power plant at Bin
Qasim (575 MW) was initiated as late as in May 2007. It was announced
that contract would be finalised in October 2007. The new plant would be
operational by 2010. Nothing was heard of this project, until July 2008
when the company announced that agreement was being signed with the
contractor. Though there is no physical progress on the project, the
contract has been signed for $378 million. Three gas turbines of 129 MW
each will be installed during May-July 2011, whereas with the
installation of a steam turbine of 185-MW capacity-- the combined cycle
power plant-- will be fully operational in January 2012.
Aiming to minimise power shortage, the KESC decided to install a new
barge-mounted power plant of 45-MW capacity, which was scheduled to be
operational by September 2006. This plant, said to be imported from
Kenya, was never placed on high seas. Instead, the management later
promised that a 75-MW capacity stationary power plant would be installed
on fast track basis in Karachi, to come on stream by December 2007. This
did not happen either. Thus there was not a single megawatt power
generation added to the system by September 2008.
Since all the new power projects were inordinately delayed, the
government directed the KESC, in March 2008, to add 200 MW to power
generation capacity on rental basis, within six months. However, the
company could establish a rental power plant of 50-MW (2x25 MW) capacity
that commenced its partial operations in November 2008 and full
operation in March 2009. As a result of strong pressure from the
consumers and civic bodies, the management of the KESC had announced in
November 2008 to add at least 400 MW to its total installed capacity by
June 2009. This did not materialise. As on November 18, 2002, KESC had
an installed capacity of 1,801 MW, with de-rated capacity/actual
capability of 1,412 MW. With the recent commissioning of a 220-MW
combined cycle power plant at Korangi next month, the total installed
capacity would be 2,021 MW or de-rated capacity of 1,625 MW, according
to the recent revisions made in the generation license granted to the
KESC by the Nepra. The KESC planned to replace old gas turbines
installed at Korangi and SITE power plants, of cumulative capacity of
180 MW, by July 2009, but there are no indications of its
implementation.
Another major cause for power shortfall is that of heavy line losses due
to technical reasons and power theft. The line losses of over 34 per
cent of revenue in 2005 were targeted by the management to be reduced to
20 per cent by 2008, but the losses have instead gone up to over 40 per
cent by early 2009. The utility company somehow failed to plan proper
load management, to improve distribution network and upgrade the grid
system using underground cables, as envisaged, which could have lowered
losses.
As monsoon approaches, the KESC consumers should expect the worst power
outages in the coming weeks, while continuing to suffer persistent
load-shedding. The irony is that the government remains indifferent to
the alarming situation, except forming a few committees and issuing
political statements. The federal government had appointed in May a
special committee headed by the financial advisor Shaukat Tarin to
evaluate KESC’s performance. It has not concluded its proceedings even
after a lapse of two months. The reported government’s intention to
take over the KESC control again, does not seem probable, given its
special favours, concessions and generous subsidies to the utility in
the garb of ensuring uninterrupted power supply to the consumers. It is
shocking that the government is privatising PEPCO’s Jamshoro and Photo
by Arsalan
Kotri power plant, learning nothing from the experience of the KESC
privatisation.
(By
Engr Hussain Ahmad Siddiqui, Daily Dawn, 06/07/2009)
Establishing
right to water
AVAILBILITY
of water in Pakistan has alarmingly declined from 5,000 cubic metres per
capita in 1950s to nearly 1,000 cubic metres in 2008, because of
increase in population, inefficient irrigation, mismanagement and
unequal water rights.
The quality of environment for the majority of the population remains
poor. Only 36 per cent of households had tap water supply in 2006-7. The
differences between urban and rural areas are stark as 62 per cent of
urban households have access to tap water, compared to only 22 per cent
of rural households.
Nearly 75 per cent of the population or some 125 million people have no
access to clean drinking water. The situation is worse in rural areas.
Water crisis has several serious health, social, and political
implications. Water-borne diseases such as cholera, gastro, diarrhoea
and typhoid cost the national exchequer 1.8 per cent of GDP (Rs120bn)
annually because of poor access to safe drinking water and better
sanitation. The situation is becoming precarious with the passage of
time.
Budget allocation for water supply and sanitation amounts to less than
0.2 per cent of GDP. Over 60 per cent of the population gets their
drinking water from hand or motor pumps, with the figure in rural areas
being over 70 per cent. This figure is lower in Sindh, where the
groundwater quality is generally saline and an estimated 24 per cent of
the rural population gets water from surface water or dug wells.
The links between water quality and health risks are well established.
According to Unicef 20 to 40 per cent of hospital beds in Pakistan are
occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases, such as
typhoid, cholera, dysentery and hepatitis, which are responsible for
one-third of all deaths. Access to improved drinking water was not only
a basic need but also a basic human right and must be respected.
Poor water and sanitation is a major public health concern in the
country. Water-borne diseases are responsible for substantial human and
economic losses. These include loss of millions of working hours of
productivity annually, and associated costs for healthcare. Sickness of
the main bread- earner can have a severe economic impact on a poor
household, and in case of contagious diseases, may even affect the whole
community.
Water crisis is essentially a crisis of governance. Lack of adequate
water institutions, fragmented institutional structures and excessive
diversion of public resources for private gain has impeded the effective
management of water supplies. The protection of the right to water is an
essential prerequisite to the fulfillment of many other human rights.
Therefore, without guaranteeing access to a sufficient quantity of safe
water, other human rights may be jeopardised.
This serves to demonstrate that the issue of water and human rights is
not a radical or revolutionary suggestion, but merely a new way of
thinking about well established concepts. Formal recognition of such a
right would mean acknowledging the environmental dimension, more
specifically the water dependent dimension of existing human rights.
Moreover, a formally recognised right to water would make it
increasingly difficult to disregard international environmental
provisions that relate to the protection and management of water.
The explicit recognition of water as a human right could represent a
usable tool for civil society to hold governments accountable for
guaranteeing access to water of sufficient quality and quantity and
assist governments to establish effective policies and strategies.
To ensure access to drinking water without discrimination and to allow
the individual right to water to be fully exercised, public authorities
need to take measures aimed at improving the quality of water, reducing
losses and establishing better and more equitable pricing of water
supplies.
Active legal measures under the auspices of human rights protection can
be taken to benefit disadvantaged groups, especially people living in
poverty. State would need to ensure that the poor receive a minimum
supply of drinking water and sanitation.
Water must be considered as a social and environmental resource. The
term ‘right to water’ does not only refer to the rights of people
but also to the needs of the environment with regard to river basins,
lakes, aquifers, oceans and ecosystems surrounding watercourses.
Therefore, a right to water cannot be secured without this broader
respect. A failure to recognise water as an environmental resource may
jeopardise the rights based approach, which views water pri marily as a
social resource.
If we consider the maintenance of adequate access to and supply of good
quality water, we need to look at how this is to be achieved beyond the
provision of safe drinking water and sanitation. Maintaining a safe
water supply means that overall river basin management, agricultural
practices, and other works are important.
If we want to mean ingfully strengthen and uphold any right to water, we
need to make certain that river basins and ground waters are managed in
their entirety. Steps need to be taken to make provision for
environmental flows for healthy river systems, which means to maintain
downstream ecosystems and their benefits.
The global environmental instruments that incorporate a right to water
point to wider environmental resource management as important to
respecting such a right. Practically, what should be assessed is whether
adequate supplies of water of good quality are maintained for the entire
population of this planet, and if not, how this can be achieved. If we
accept that there is a right to water, guaranteeing this right in the
face of increasing populations and increasing environmental stresses,
becomes increasingly challenging. Ensuring this right for present and
future generations requires that a long term view be taken. A greater
integration of environmental principles and human rights principles
particularly the ecosystem approach will be required.
Water, as an environmental resource, needs to be further promoted and
managed within the framework of a river basin and ecosystem approach.
The rights based approach is based on an essentially human centered view
as it promotes water as a social resource.
However, a human right to water would not only mean the expansion of
existing human rights and duties in the context of achieving access to
water by all, but also an acknowledgement that healthy functioning of
river systems and ground waters are essential for people, plants and
animals.
(By
Nasir Ali Panhwar, Daily Dawn, 06/07/2009)
Governance
— from bad to worse In the national interest
Every day, without fail, public transport buses without any route
permits ply on some of Karachi’s most prestigious roads. These buses,
which come from as far away as Malir and Korangi, wind their way through
lanes and streets of the city under the watchful eye of the traffic
police. No one stops their progress.
While route buses are not allowed to ply in front of the Governor’s
House and I.I. Chundrigar Road, which is one of the city’s busiest
roads, the illegal ones are seen happily moving on these routes. Like
many things in Pakistan, you suffer if you try and do things the right
way.
This issue has been highlighted time and again in the media. But nothing
happens. It is ironic that in this instance, since these roads are not
open to public transport, one cannot apply and get a route permit for
it. Try and apply for one and the might of the provincial government’s
bureaucracy will descend on you like a ton of bricks. The rule of thumb:
don’t ask, just do.
There is, like most things in Pakistan, always an alternative. All one
has to do is grease the palms of the traffic police department and then
become king of the road. Pay-as-you-drive has been perfected by the
Sindh Police. And no one says anything, not even the bureaucrats who
would otherwise never let you have a permit to drive on the designated
roads.
This system has been perfected further by the creative genius of our
traffic police department in Karachi. Now there is a token system in
place. Unlike the token system in other countries, in Karachi it works
on the premise that once money is paid to the local traffic section, a
token is issued and this is shown to any traffic constable who stops the
commercial vehicle. The traffic constable will then allow the offending
vehicle to proceed unchecked. Thanks to this token, one can break local
traffic rules and endanger lives with impunity. And in the process our
policemen become richer and richer.
This paper did an expose on the traffic police token system in Karachi
last year and the traffic police admitted in an inquiry that this was in
fact a scam that was in operation. Soon after, however, everything was
forgotten and it’s now business as usual. Hundreds of people die in
Karachi every year as a result of traffic accidents. Men, women and
children are crushed to death by speeding buses, water tankers and road
dumpers. This does not shake the rulers from their sleep.
There are many areas where the rot has set in. One of them is the
traffic system of Karachi and other large cities. In Lahore, the
introduction of the new traffic police system may have helped matters
considerably, but there too rumblings have started on how politicians
are pushing their way and breaking the laws.
In Pakistan only, breaking the law is considered a status symbol. If you
have the power, then traffic rules do not apply to you. Almost all the
ministers in Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah’s cabinet in Sindh drive
around in vehicles, all paid for by us taxpayers, that have fancy number
plates and tinted glasses. They routinely break traffic signals, park in
no-parking zones and harass and harangue other motorists on the road.
And yet, Qaim Ali Shah and the People’s Party take no notice or
action. The dead cannot be woken from their slumber. And yet, the excise
department every year embarks on a drive against fancy number plates and
tinted glasses. Who gets caught and penalised?
Obviously not those who are in power. Neither those who hold power or
are related to those in or out of power. The axe falls on the
middle-income person – on a motorcycle or a car who is the target of
the traffic vultures.
Recently, the Sindh Police started a drive on its own to check whether
vehicles have paid their Motor Vehicle Tax – a levy taken by the
provincial government. Without taking into confidence the local excise
department, whose job it is to collect this tax, policemen of different
thanas in Karachi started snap checking – in many instances during
office rush hours. The result: thousands of frustrated motorists, and a
handful of happy policemen – “enriched” by the experience.
Why do we blame only the government, ask some. Why is it, they wonder,
that the mullah at the local mosque will spend hours talking about the
pleasures of paradise and the vices of this world but will refrain from
giving common-sense advice. Like, when was the last time one heard a
sermon at a local mosque that talked about civic sense - of not
littering roads, of standing in line and not breaking traffic signals?
Possibly, like the government in power, these are not issues for the
clergy. It goes without saying that many of our leaders are corrupt and
morally deficient. They cannot set an example because they themselves
know no better. The VIP culture that has become part of our society and
expects us to behave in a manner that is not appreciated in any civil
society. Bad behaviour is usually condoned by our society on one pretext
or another.
One of the main issues is corruption. In Pakistan this has led to a
breakdown in proper governance. Mafias have taken over the cities of
Pakistan. The transport mafia, for example, ensures that the people of
Pakistan’s cities will never get a proper mass-transit system. For two
decades we have been dreaming of a cheap and efficient transport system.
Instead, all we have are poorly maintained private buses that transport
the fare-paying public as if they were chicken. Most of these buses are
owned by policemen, so the chances of their being checked for safety and
road-worthiness are remote.
Transport is one example of poor governance and corruption. The same can
be seen in other sectors too — primarily health, education and public
safety. Scams take place before our very eyes. Take, for example, the
parking racket that enriches many in Karachi.
Try and find a parking spot in one of the busier parts of Karachi and
you will be frustrated. Parking men will charge you an arm and a leg to
park and yet they have no legal sanction to impose this levy. But they
do, because they have paid the traffic police and the local thana.
Around the Central Police Office where the Sindh police chief and the
Karachi police chief sit, are several such rackets operating. Millions
change hands every week amongst the police stations of this area. And
yet the police leadership looks the other way. The local parking boys
insist that the money goes “very high up.” Who do we believe?
Given the will, things can change. Take, for example, the sterling work
done by the Motorway Police when one travels on the country’s
highways. There is a world of a difference driving in Karachi and then
driving from Karachi to Hyderabad or beyond.
Suddenly the same people who were driving like monsters are transformed
into responsible and alert drivers. Everyone wears a seatbelt. There is
no over-speeding. People respect the traffic rules. So it is possible in
Pakistan to make a change. It is only a matter of doing it right.
There are many examples like the Motorway Police where organisations and
institutions, through honesty and competence, are able to enforce laws
and rules. In the final analysis one can say that all depends on the
intent and ability of our rulers and those in power or authority. As
things stand, one can only wonder what is more in short supply –
honesty or competence.
(By
Kamal Siddiqi, The News, 06/07/2009)
Delays
push KCR project cost up to $1.58 bn
As the Karachi Urban Transport Company gears up efforts to devise the
resettlement action plan of the ambitious Karachi Circular Railway (KCR)
project, modification and inordinate delay have raised the project cost
to $1.58 billion, The News has reliably learnt. “This drastic rise in
the project cost is due to upgradation and time overrun to avoid cost
overrunning in the end”, explains the source in the Railways. “We
may end up saving some money in the end but we can’t afford running
after capital.”
One of the important modifications has been added to the existing plan
of reviving KCR is the elevation of the KCR tracks measuring about 20 to
22 kilometres to avoid trespassing. This split segments of elevated
route will also see 11 stations being elevated.
“We have been witnessing deaths due to this very trespassing over the
unfenced railway tracks every year”, said the official. “Virtually
abandoned KCR tracks have invited variety of encroachments. Even slums
have sprung up along the tracks making the route highly dangerous for
plying of the trains”.
According to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which
has been constantly updating the blueprint of KCR revival, there are
about 85 sites on the proposed KCR loop, where trespassing has become
routine. This forced the planners to come up with an innovative solution
of elevating 11 stations.
Authorities are trying to devise limited access to the stations on the
KCR, thinking of allowing commuters to board trains only if they have
the smart card or e-tickets. They have plans to fence the tracks forming
the KCR loop in a bid to avoid accidents besides ensuring fast and
smooth service.
The KUTC has plans to connect the airport to the KCR loop by laying out
six kilometres of underground tracks very much along the pattern of the
Delhi Metro. “We are also working on the interval between two trains
called as headway to attract commuters”, an official said. “Headway
in Delhi is six minutes”.
Another
important feature of the revival of the KCR is the redesigning the
3.5-milometre track on the KCR loop, where the Karachi Urban Transport
Company (KUTC) will create a tunnel, covering three stations between
Gulistan-e-Jauhar to Gulshan-e-Iqbal. This is recommended keeping in
view of the topography of the area, which is rocky.
Besides
such remarkable changes in the project design, the KUTC officials also
cited domestic and international recession responsible for the rise in
project’s total cost, which was earlier estimated to be around $872
million.
According to the proponents of the project, the KCR is being revived
through a development loan from Japan Bank of International Cooperation
(JBIC) at a highly subsidized rate of 0.2 per cent mark-up. The loan is
payable within 40 years, with an initial 10-year grace period.
Since the KCR project is JBIC-funded project, the KUTC is bound to
follow the Japanese and World Bank’s guidelines for resettlements. A
socio-economic survey pertinent to Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) has
also been sought to collect demographic conditions of the project area.
Sources at the KUTC said a JICA team is scheduled to visit Pakistan in
July to meet KUTC and other top railway and finance ministry’s
officials in this regard.
The KCR went off the tracks in 1997 due to heavy losses incurred by the
Pakistan Railways. Amidst chaotic and often subhuman bus services,
people preferred owning their own means of transport. It led the
vehicular traffic swelling manifold causing severe hardships to
commuters, left at the mercy of private sector buses.
Now the KUTC has been entrusted with resurrecting the KCR along the
55-kilometre tracks as a viable travel mode within the city, where
travel time on bus has shot up nearly 45 per cent in a year.
(By
Asadullah, The News, 02/07/2009)
33pc
rise in road accident deaths in 2008’
There was a 33 per cent increase in fatalities in 2008 from 2007, with
90 per cent of motorcycle riders involved in road traffic accidents (RTAs)
not wearing helmets. 74 per cent of those motorcyclists died of head
injuries, said Dr Rashid Jooma,Director General (DG) Health, and chief
of the Road Traffic Injury Research Project (RTIRP) while addressing the
Second National Road Safety Conference held at the Aga Khan University
Auditorium on Tuesday.
The conference was organised by the National Road Safety Forum of
Pakistan in collaboration with Aga Khan University, Sindh Education
Foundation, and the Road Traffic Injury Research Centre (Ministry of
Health), Indus Motors and Shell Pakistan. This was the second edition of
this conference, the last one taking place in 2007. Jooma said that the
project has been compiling data regarding road traffic injury and
auditing road safety of Karachi for the past three years. He revealed
that contrary to official figures, which put injuries and fatalities
during 2008 at 1,004, and 1,049 respectively, data compiled by the RTIRP
during 2008 revealed 32,497 injuries and fatalities, of which 1,185 were
incurred during 27,000 crashes. Motorcyclists and pillion riders
accounted for 65 per cent of road accidents.
Federal Minister for Communication Dr Arbab Alamgir Khan said that
Pakistan has the highest incidence of road accidents in the region, with
motorcyclists most prone to accidents.
Aftab Ahmed Pathan of the Motorway Police said that the major difference
between the Motorway Police and provincial police was that there was
proper funding for the department regarding salaries and equipment,
along with strict enforcement of the eight-hour shift for officers. In
turn there is 80 per cent implementation of law. He added that
centralisation of motor vehicle registration database is needed to curb
cross country crime.
Asad Jahangir, former IG of Sindh and currently a consultant at RTIRP,
called for a stricter enforcement of helmet laws and employing the
Motorway model in the province and reduce the license age so that
younger drivers be aware and be accountable by the law for their
actions.
The key note speakers highlighted the importance of road safety and
wearing helmets. They said that in 2008, the lives of 331 riders could
have been saved had they been wearing helmets. They also called for an
improvement in the enforcement of existing traffic laws, improvement of
road infrastructure and the improvement of attitude of the drivers, and
a concerted effort on part of the public to self impose the traffic
laws. For this purpose, education and awareness can play key roles.
Zaiviji Ismail, Shell Pakistan MD, said that Shell, as part of corporate
social responsibility has enjoined upon its 1,300 drivers in Pakistan to
abide by traffic laws and a driver can be reported to the company for
not even wearing a seat belt. Pervez Ghias, Indus Motors CEO, said that
there needs to be a road safety plan complete with road safety furniture
like signs and building better the quality of roads. Effective law
enforcement remains a weak link in our road safety system. Better
R&D will help in better equipping drivers and incorporating better
technology in our road systems to help minimise the danger as our roads
will get further congested in the coming years. Following lunch, a panel
discussion was held, with panellists Aftab Pahan, Sindh Education
Foundation Director Aziz Kabani, chief of DL and MVI Karachi SSP
Muhammad Malik, and Traffic Zone South SSP Ali Raza discussing how we as
a nation have abandoned law and now complain about the ensuing chaos.
SSP Ali Raza pointed out that after the vigorous implementation of the
helmet campaign, the use of helmets decreased, however the number of
tickets issued had jumped to 666,173 tickets in 2008 compared to 123,095
tickets in 2007. This was, however, not enough of a deterrent as the
fine was only Rs50 so its impact was minimal.
Arif Ahmed Khan, Home Secretary, on behalf of the Home Minister was the
chief guest and said that he would take a more detailed look into the
implementation of the helmet law.
(The
News, 08/07/2009)
Karachi
is world's 4th cheapest city: survey
A
global survey of most expensive cities for expatriates has rated Karachi
as the fourth cheapest city while South Africa’s Johannesburg has been
adjudged the cheapest.
The cost of living survey, conducted by consultancy firm Mercer, studied
143 cities across the world.
At the other end of the scale, Tokyo and Osaka were judged to be the
most expensive cities, largely due to the strength of the yen against
the dollar.
The Japanese capital replaced Moscow as the world’s most expensive
city for expatriates, and Beijing also moved into the top 10.
The survey uses New York as the base city with an index of 100 points
when comparing the cost of 200 items, including housing, transport,
food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
Tokyo scored 143.7 points and was nearly three times as costly as the
cheapest city, Johannesburg, which had an index score of 49.6.
Osaka was in second place -- making Japan the only country with two
cities in the top 10 — followed by Moscow in third, Geneva at four and
Hong Kong fifth.
Asian and European cities again dominated the top ranks of the world’s
costliest cities for foreigners, but currency swings including a
stronger dollar have reshuffled the global rankings, the firm said.
Cities in the United States, China and the Middle East surged from last
year. New York jumped from 22nd to eighth place, Beijing is now ninth,
up from 20th, while Dubai has climbed 32 places to number 20.
London dropped 13 places from last year to be the 16th most expensive
city in the world, while Paris slipped one spot to 13th.
(Daily
Dawn, 08/07/2009)
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