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Infrastructure Development in Pakistan

Time Square (Emerald Square), Lahore








ABU DHABI — The Pal Group of Abu Dhabi plans to break ground in December on a $1.4 billion mixed-use real estate project in an upscale neighbourhood of Lahore, Pakistan, a top company official said on Wednesday.

The project, called “Time Square,” will include 17 office and apartment towers, a five-star hotel and a shopping mall. To build it, Pal has formed a joint-venture with Pakistan’s Defense Housing Authority, a property developer affiliated with that country’s armed forces. Time Square would be one of the largest foreign-invested real estate developments in Pakistan, the UAE company’s Head of International Projects Ahmed Kamal told Khaleej Times.

The Defense Housing Authority, known as DHA, has developed similar affluent housing districts in Pakistan’s commercial hub Karachi and in its capital Islamabad.

DHA will contribute a total of 48 acres of land for Time Square, while Pal will provide the financing and expertise, Kamal said.

He declined to specify the partners’ respective shares in the venture, though he said that Pal holds a majority stake. The Pal Group is a privately owned concern with interests in construction, hospitality, utilities and the entertainment industry, as well as property.

Several other UAE property companies, particularly those exposed to Dubai’s collapsed commercial property market, are also looking overseas for opportunities.

Some have announced deals in Saudi Arabia, which has suffered much less than Dubai from the property downturn, and in Tunisia and other nations in North Africa.

Upon completion, Time Square is to consist of around 1,888 duplex apartments, town houses and luxury villas, six office towers, a 21-floor five-star hotel and one of the city’s biggest shopping malls.

The project, on the outskirts of Lahore, will be developed in four phases and finished by 2016, Kamal said.

Work on the first phase, to start this December, will produce two office towers, two residential towers and a retail podium. The second phase will see construction of 11 additional towers, including one with 42 stories. Five of the towers, each 29 stories tall, will be inter-connected by bridges, Kamal said.

A central feature of Time Square will be a tree-lined retail avenue with food and beverage outlets and small bazaars. The joint-venture plans to build a luxury hotel complex with 600 rooms in the third phase and to add a seven-floor shopping mall in the final phase. Pal Group expects to pay for the project using its own funds and by pre-selling some of the units and borrowing from banks, he said.
 
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DAWN.COM | Metropolitan | Bull in a bear market

ISLAMABAD: A statue of a charging bull – hallmark of the aggressive market trend – has been placed for the first time in Pakistan outside the new building of the Islamabad Stock Exchange (ISE).

Despite being the smallest capital market of Pakistan, the ISE has surpassed the Karachi and Lahore stock market in establishing a state-of-the-art building for itself, which has all the characteristics of a modern complex.

The ISE building scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday is not only an addition to the growing skyline of the federal capital, but is was also expected to become a hub of financial sector in Islamabad.

‘Apart from the brokers, we have already received applications for space from all financial institutions, including banks, modaraba, insurance and other relevant fields,’ said ISE secretary Ahmed Noman.

The most attractive feature of the 22-storey building, apart from the bronze statue of the bull, is the largest electronic screen installed anywhere in Pakistan.

The 15-foot high and 10-foot wide screen would not only display the trading activity and investor-related information, but the authorities also have plans to use it screen for public service messages.

Officials said the ISE was in contact with the Islamabad police and the traffic police for display of public awareness messages after the trading hours and on holidays.
However, there was a downside of this large screen, its operation was a costly affair and at a time when the country was facing severe electricity shortage, the trading screen of ISE would consume 324 kilowatt.

While the building has three basements, each with an area of 50,000 square feet, for parking lot for the employees’ vehicles, the planners have not allocated adequate space for the visitors, who were expected to be in hundreds on daily basis when all the offices in the building become operational.

The ISE building has been constructed at the cost of Rs2.5 billion in less than four years and the ISE management has generated all the capital to construct the building.

However, as opposed to the other stock markets, the new ISE building has no trading hall, as trading in the stock markets are no longer held under a single roof.

‘This is an era of virtual stock markets but we need to have a very strong connectivity and smooth power supply as all the work is done on computers,’ said Mr Noman.

In view of high demand for telephone lines and internet connections, special arrangements have been made by the PTCL, which has established a hub of 5,000 lines.

‘The whole building is connected with optic fibre and not a single internet connection is based on copper wires,’ the officials said, adding that the use of advanced technology also had a price tag of Rs250 million, compared to Rs10 million for copper wiring.

The management of the exchange has also spent extensively on the safety measures, claiming that they have the best and the most modern firefighting system in the federal capital.

‘The firefighting system installed in the building cost up to Rs300 million but that was needed in such a large building where so many electronic equipments would be used,’ project director of the building said.

He said adequate measures had been taken to ensure backup electricity supply to the occupants of the building.

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‘Rs 128bn project gift for citizens’

* Bilour says work to start from 2010, end in 2014
* Says fare will start from Rs 15 and will rise 50 paisas per stop

By Fawad Ali Shah

KARACHI: Federal Minister for Railways Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour said on Saturday work on the Rs 128 billion mega project of Karachi Circular Railway would start from 2010 and will be completed till 2014.

The Awami National Party (ANP)-backed minister regarded the recently approved Karachi Circular Railway project as a gift to the citizens of Karachi saying he travelled to the city to congratulate the citizens.

“It is a project for all and all the citizens would benefit from it,” Bilour requested the citizens to work for the success of the project.

He said he faced many difficulties while getting the project approved from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

“It is no doubt a unique project and would benefit all,” he said adding it would decrease the traveling problems of the citizens of Karachi.

He regretted that railways remained the most affected by recent violence in the country saying whenever some untoward incident occurs in the country people attack railway installations and I fear if this happened to the Karachi Circular Railway it would be an irreparable damage to the citizens of Karachi and people across the country as Karachi is mini-Pakistan, the minister said.

He said 439 bogeys of trains were burnt across the country in violence that erupted after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

“During that violence 53 railway stations were burnt and signals worth Rs 4 billion destroyed,” the minister explained.

Explaining the details of the Karachi Circular Railway project he said 20 trains will leave from the stations within an hour and the fare would start from Rs 15 and would increase 50 paisas per stop. “This fare would reach a maximum limit of Rs 22,” he said. He said the length of the track of the Karachi Circular Railway would be 43 kilometres.

“Four-kilometre track would be underground and 22km would run through elevators,” he explained. Replying a question the Bilour said the first priority before the start of the project would be to take care of the families affected by the project. He linked the deficit of the Ministry of Railways to lack of investment.

“How it can progress if you are not going to invest in its infrastructure,” he said and added that the Karachi Circular Railway had failed earlier due to lack of investment.

“From 1964 to 1985 people liked to move through trains as Karachi Circular Railway was a good way of communication,” he said, adding after 1985 people lacked interest in it because of poor infrastructure and unscheduled timings.

Bilour, answering a question, said he was aware of the poor conditions of the trains going to Balochistan saying, “What can I do, everywhere the condition is same.” However he hoped after the introduction of the new bogeys the trains going to Balochistan would be revived on priority basis.

The deficit of Pakistan Railways has touched Rs 3,500 billion, the minister revealed, however he quickly added, “Though the deficit is large yet Ministry of Railways across the globe except India are in deficit.”

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National Highways & Motorways of Pakistan (continued)

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Karakoram highway: The highest border crossing highway in the world (Connecting Pakistan to China).
 
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National Highways & Motorways of Pakistan (continued)

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Indus Highway



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Road to Murree



National Highways

N-5 Karachi-Thatta-Hyderabad-Moro-Multan-Sahiwal-Lahore-Jhelum-Rawalpinid-Peshawar-Torkham (Grand Trunk Road) 1819 km
N-10 Lyari-Gwadar-Gabd (Makran Coastal Highway) 653 km
N-15 Mansehra-Naran-Jhalkhand 240 km
N-25 Karachi-Bela-Khuzdar-Kalat-Quetta-Chaman (RCD Highway) 813 km
N-35 Hasanabdal-Abbottabad-Thakot-Gilgit-Khunjerab (Karakoram Highway, KKH) 806 km
N-40 Lakpass-Nokundi-Taftan 610 km
N-45Nowhera-dir-Chitral 309 km
N-50 Kuchlac-Zhob-Dl Khan 531 km
N-55 Kotri-Shikarpur-DG Khan-Kohat-Peshawar (Indus Highway) 1264 km
N-65 Sukkar-Sibi-Saryab 385 km
N-70 Qilasaifullah-Loralai-DG Khan-Multan 447 km
N-75 Islamabad-Satra Mile-Lower Topa (Murree)- Kohala (Murree Expressway) 90 km
S-1 Jaglot (KKH)- Shangrial-Karachi-Skardu 167 km
S-2 Kohala-Muzaffarabad 40 km
Lahore - Sialkot Carriageway 101 km 6 Lanes Under Construction
Lahore - Faisalabad Carriageway



Motorways

M1 Peshawar-Islamabad 155 km
M2 Islambad-Pinidi Bhattian-Lahore 367 km
M3 Pinidi Bhattian - Faisalabad 53 km
M4 Faisalabad - Multan 243 km
M5 Multan - DG Khan 84 km
M6 DG Khan - Kakkar 467 km
M7 Kakkar - Karachi 280 km
M8 Ratodero - Gwadar 895 km
M9 Karachi-Hyderabad 136 km
M10 Karachi Northern Bypass 64 km
 
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these pics just make me want to sleep even on streets of pakistan
 
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Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)

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UBIT - Karachi University (Umaer Basha Institute of Information Technology)

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