Karachi Financial Towers – Project Halted

Karachi Financial Towers is one of the mega projects inagurated by ex President General Pervez Musharaf. Enshaa NLC, a joint venture between Enshaa Holding Limited of UAE and National Logistic Cell (NLC), is taking up the project to build twin towers in the port city. Launch of Arabtec Construction Mauritius LLC in Pakistan took place which will execute Karachi Financial Towers. The value of the project is over Dhs.500million and comprises 2 state of the art 45 floor Office Towers, which when completed will be the tallest structures in Karachi. (im still confused about the exact number of floors as different sites are quoting different levels, however they are sure to be between 40-45)These are two adjoining 45-storey commercial towers situated in the heart of Pakistan’s financial capital, Karachi. Upon completion KFT will offer office space, parking, retail, dining, a health club, a garden terrace, SMART building features and a fully integrated infrastructure.

I investigated the current progress of this project and came to know the project is halted. The excavaion works on KFT  were started back in 2009 , however the construction stopped due to issues with the land purchase.

A case was lodged by the company who bid for this plot first but the government did not give this plot to them and instead gave to Enshaa with low price as compare to the company who bid more than enshaa and now court ordered to stop working over site that’s why banners and advertisment are removed from the site but plant and machineries are still there

Lets give you some more information about this mega project;

Information About KFT – Karachi Financial Tower:

In order to create a lifestyle for the “Generation Y” of Karachi and international investors, the Company has acquired a piece of land measuring 12,950 sq yard, situated at I. I. Chundrigar Road from Pakistan Railway. The title of the land is transferred in the name of the Company. KFT complies with the strategies and framework set within the Karachi International Financial Centre (KIFC) Master Plan that provides a flexible framework for the long term development of the site. KFT will also benchmark and generate design guidelines will be develop while the overall quality of environment and functional efficiency is maintained throughout the entire KIFC Master Plan.

The site is situated at the midpoint of I. I. Chundrigar Road that is the main hub of economic activity and the busiest road in the Central Business District of Karachi. The site is the part and parcel of Karachi City Railway Station. The main access to site is from 706,626 meters wide I. I. Chundrigar Road. It leads to M. A. Jinnah Road, where Karachi Port is located. All services and utilities shall be linked up from I. I. Chundrigar.

The two towers are identical and rise in terms of numbers of floors and height. The building comprises 3 levels of basements, 2 levels of Retail, 5 levels of podium parking and 33 levels of above the podium level. Gross Floor Area of KFT is more than 1.4 million sq ft. The net saleable area of each floor shall be in the range of 16,500 to 17,300 sq ft.

Where the sky bridge pierces through the twin towers, there will be a 6 story void (24 to 29 level) created to house the recreational facilities like swimming pool and the garden terrace. The sky bridge shall be occupied as the commercial club

The podium and the basement will contain the retail and parking provisions. Over 1,800 car parks will have to be provided for the development.

• Karachi Building & Town Planning Regulations 2002
• International Building Code 2003
• Building Energy Codes of Pakistan
• Uniform Mechanical Codes
• Codes and Standards of National Fire Protection Association
• CIBSE Guide Lines
• British Standards/EN Standards for each system
• Illumination Engineers Society Codes
• I.E.C Standards

The building shall be equipped with the following latest and state of the art services and systems:

• Air-Conditioning and Mechanical Ventilation
• Electrical services including power, lighting, telephone, data etc
• Fire protection services including fire alarm system
• Plumbing and Drainage services
• Smoke Management system
• Security system
• Vertical Transportation services

We will keep you updated on the progress of this project. Stay tuned or bookmark this page for future reference.