Karachi Projects

Karachi has branches of major motor companies such as Toyota, Honda, BMW, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, Rolls Royce, Nissan and Suzuki, as well as the Adam Motor Company and HinoPak.

There are many development projects proposed, approved and under construction in Karachi city. Among projects of note, Emaar Properties is proposing to invest $43bn (£22.8bn) in Karachi to develop Bundal Island, which is a 12,000 acre (49 km²) island just off the coast of Karachi. The Karachi Port Trust is planning a Rs. 20 billion, 1,947 feet (593 m) high Port Tower Complex on the Clifton shoreline. It will comprise a hotel, a shopping centre, an exhibition centre and a revolving restaurant with a viewing gallery offering a panoramic view of the coastline and the city.

The City District Government Karachi has inked an agreement with a US based firm Global EnviroScience Technologies for installation of a 4000 mega watts power plant and 100 million gallon daily Desalination Plant with an investment of $2.8 billion and $150 million respectively.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed in this connection on Sunday by representative of City Government Karachi and the Californian firm.

Other projects include: MCB Tower (completed), Crescent Bay, Karachi (under construction), Karachi Waterfront (approved), Karachi Creek Marina (under construction), Sugarland City (approved), Dolmen Towers (under construction), I.T. Tower (approved), Buddo Island (approved), Square One Towers (under construction), Sign Tower (approved), Karachi Mass Transit System, Enshaa Towers (approved), Karachi FPCCI Tower (proposed), City Centre (proposed), Malir Expressway (proposed), Northern Bypass Industrial Area (under construction).

About Karachi

is the provincial capital of Sindh province and the largest city in Pakistan. It is also one of the largest cities in the world and is located on the northern shores of the Arabian Sea, west of the Indus River Delta. It was the original capital of Pakistan and remains the cultural and economic hub, as well as being the largest seaport of the country. Its leading economic sectors include finance, business services, transportation, media, television production, publishing, software, medical research, education and tourism.

Spread over 3,530 square kilometres (1,363 sq mi), the city and suburbs comprise the world's twentieth largest metropolitan area.^[4] The city credits its growth to the mixed populations of economic and political migrants and refugees from different national, provincial, linguistic and religious origins who have largely come to settle here permanently. It is locally termed as the "City of Lights" (روشنين جو شهر) for its liveliness and the "City of the Quaid" (شهرِ قائد), having been the birth and burial place of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, as well as his home after 1947. Residents of Karachi are called "Karachiites"

History of Karachi

In 1795, the village became a domain of the Balochi Talpur rulers. A small factory was opened by the British in September 1799, but was closed down within a year. After sending a couple of exploratory missions to the area, the British East India Company conquered the town on February 3, 1839. The town was later annexed to the British Indian Empire when Sindh was conquered by Charles James Napier in 1843. On his departure in 1847, he is said to have remarked, "Would that I could come again to see you in your grandeur!".

Karachi was made the capital of Sind in the 1840s. On Napier's departure it was added along with the rest of Sindh to the Bombay Presidency. The British realized the importance of the city as a military cantonment and as a port for exporting the produce of the Indus River basin, and rapidly developed its harbour for shipping. The foundations of a city municipal government were laid down and infrastructure development was undertaken. New businesses started opening up and the population of the town began rising rapidly.

The area of Karachi was known to the ancient Greeks by many names: Krokola, the place where Alexander the Great camped to prepare a fleet for Babylonia after his campaign in the Indus valley; 'Morontobara' (probably Manora island near Karachi harbour), from where Alexander's admiral Nearchus set sail; and Barbarikon, a port of the Indo-Greek Bactrian kingdom. It was later known to the Arabs as Debal, the starting point  for Muhammad bin Qasim and his army in 712 CE.

In 1864, the first telegraphic message was sent from India to England when a direct telegraph connection was laid between Karachi and London.^[6] In 1878, the city was connected to the rest of British India by rail. Public building projects such as Frere Hall (1865) and the Empress Market (1890) were undertaken. In 1876, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, was born in the city, which by now had become a bustling city with churches, mosques, courthouses, markets, paved streets and a magnificent harbour. By 1899 Karachi had become the largest wheat exporting port in the east.^[7] The population of the city was about 105,000 inhabitants by the end of the 19th century, with a cosmopolitan mix of Hindus, Muslims, Europeans, Jews, Parsis, Iranians, Lebanese, and Goans. By the turn of the century, the city faced street congestion, which led to India’s first tramway system being laid down in 1900.

Karachi The City of Hard workers

The capital of Pakistan was moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi and then to Islamabad in 1960. This marked the start of a long period of decline in the city, marked by a lack of development. The 1980s and 1990s saw an influx of refugees from the Afghan war into Karachi.

Karachi continues to be an important financial and industrial centre and handles most of the overseas trade of Pakistan and the central Asian countries. It accounts for a large portion of the GDP of Pakistan and a large proportion of the country's white collar workers. Karachi's population has continued to grow and is estimated to have passed the 20 million mark, although official figures still show a population of around 14.5 million. The current economic boom in Pakistan has also resulted in a new period of resurgence in the economy of Karachi.

Karachi is the financial capital of Pakistan; it accounts for the lion's share of GDP and revenue. It generates over 60% of the total national revenue (federal and provincial taxes, customs and surcharges), Although a larger part of this amount account for as indirect tax contribution.Karachi produces about 42 percent of value added in large scale manufacturing. In February 2007, the World Bank identified Karachi as the most business-friendly city in Pakistan.^[

In the elections of 2005, Mustafa Kamal was elected City Nazim of Karachi to succeed Naimatullah Khan and Nasreen Jalil was elected as the City Naib Nazim. Mustafa Kamal was previously the provincial minister for information technology in Sindh. His predecessor, Naimatullah Khan was chosen as one of the best mayors in Asia. Mustafa Kamal is advancing the development trail left by Naimatullah Khan, and has been actively involved in maintaining care of the city's municipal systems.. There are also six military cantonments administered by the Pakistan Army which do not form part of the City of Karachi