Bahria Town has entered Karachi with a number of residential and commercial projects, but the never-ending appetite of the developer for development projects does not seem to be letting up any time soon. Bahria Town recently sponsored the construction of Altaf Hussain University in Hyderabad and now it is planning to provide Karachi with a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, a project that is likely to ease the immense pressure of traffic in the city.
This news might raise an eyebrow or two because technically speaking, the government should be undertaking this project instead of a private developer like Bahria Town. Nevertheless, the residents of Karachi are likely to be stoked once the project reaches fruition one way or another.
While talking to reporters at Bahria Icon Tower in Karachi, former Bogotá, Columbia mayor and urban city transport systems expert Mr Enrique Penelosa said the BRT was the only way to address Karachi’s traffic mess. The Bahria Town management has reportedly asked Mr Penelosa for his expertise to help accomplish this feat.
According to a news source, the BRT will pass through MA Jinnah Road and will reduce the time required to travel to central Karachi by half. Mr Penelosa also said that in the next 60 to 70 years, the population of Karachi would spike to 70 million and it would not be possible to make a traffic plan for the city.
The introduction of the BRT is likely to increase Bahria Town’s standing in Karachi and might also bolster the public’s confidence in Bahria Town’s projects. But the fact that a private developer is undertaking a development project that is usually executed by governments across the world is something that is not easy to stomach, and I for one am going to keep a keen eye on how things unfold on this front.
I leave this discussion open for you in the comments section below, and might I request that we approach this with cautious optimism instead of our usual keenly critical eyes?
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What if the MR losses the brand name
Assalam o alaikum,
Dear Mr Ahmad,
Losing “Bahria” as brand name should not affect Bahria Town much, as it has already developed reasonable goodwill in the market, but it might raise some eyebrows because rumours will most likely play their part here.
Secondly, it would be too early to be decisive. I believe Mr Malik Riaz will fight to retain the brand name, and even if he loses, this should not affect the stakeholders of Bahria Town much.
Rest ALLAH knows better.
Regards,
zain Nadeem
My response to Zain Nadeem article on zameen.com blog,
Zain you are right its hard to digest private sector steps in for public projects but do not forget BTK have long term plane to stand in Karachi in different projects especially Island cities. On the other hand i would say its a smart approach to develop credibility in new market by purposing/supporting public project to suppress opposite waves. That is our (Pakistanies) deli ma we always try to found loop holes in any positive development rather than focus on positive outcomes. BTK did there homework well ( that what sounds like to me) . Since BT birth they wait 15 years to enter KHI market with huge bundle of packages which they never offered in any of there other projects.
BT is worth 10 Billion US dollars in assets right now which shows there strong backing of all projects in khi. In real state globe you wont see such kind of developer which stepping with all extra luggage like BT.
So in my conclusion remarks i will say to sponsor BRT in khi is a smart move by BT to develop confidence and the return of investment will be huge because this return will come from space which generate 70% of whole country revenue.
khurram shehzad
Thank you so much for sharing your views, and I agree we should take the things positively; Bahria Town – no doubt – is a commendable developer.
Regards,
zain Nadeem
What if the MR losses the brand name?
Hi Zain,
This is one of the advantages of Public Private Partnership. Lets face it, our government is not financially strong and weak in resources to handle all the projects. most of all government is weakest in the will to do any thing for the nation.
Asad
Assalam o alaikum,
Thank you for sharing your views. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first time that a private developer is contributing to public development programmes at such a large scale. This will not only raise Bahria Town’s credibility, but will also provide perks to the public at large.
Regards,
zain Nadeem
Bahria why not acquire local train system in the city and link that track to bahria town karachi all infrastructure are already deployed only polishing/furnshing is required.
And ease of access for all, not only for bahria town.
This track is already deployed till mailr cantt gate # 3 only link that track from there to bahria tow which is almost 8-9 KM which is not a big deal for them.
As Railway already tender their public train “Shalimar/night coach” to different vendor so outsourcing is also not an issue.
it will save time and length of the mass transit project.
I am also ready to volunteer this project.
feel free to contact me
03222980861.
the actual solution is a Rapid Transit light rail system….however…Karach has been denied that because other cities “need” to be first….pathetic.
Possibly of commission will be minimize if such public sector huge project is executed by a no governmental company.Govt of sindh is most inefficient government in the country now therefore if this project could be handled by a person who do not know how much is karachi,s papulation then chances for completing this project are zero. look at the history and see what happened to karachi circular railways and mass transit proje traditional pr
Government and public both should encourage and facilitate such developmental projects as we know that there is extreme lack of resources along with vast scale corruption and mismanagement in this country. We invite foreign investors to establish various projects and go out of the way to encourage them to invest in Pakistan. Then what’s the problem when a local investor comes forward to help out the development of this country. We should appreciate such moves and encourage the local investors to come out with new ideas to benefit Pakistan and its people.
Thank you for giving your opinion.
Regards,
zain Nadeem
Malik Riaz is doing an excellent job. Although there are suggestions that BT is providing a loan to the Sindh government, and BT has the resources to do so, but it would be beneficial for both the parties, i.e BT and the Karachiettes. BT will provide the loan and build the BRT system and the Sindh govt. will pay (or defer, agr yahi halat rahi sindh govt ki), but the general Karachi public will benefit. So, its a win win situation for all.
One thing that I dont understand about this project is the route (or routes). One lane will go from BTK to Tower via M.A. Jinnah Road and back, while the other will start from BTK to Airport and back. Why is it not planned to go from Airport onwards to Tower via Sharae Faisal and Metropole? If the responsible at BT, or anyone else can comment on it, that would be highly appreciated.