‘DHA City master planning to complete on time’

The master planning phase of the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) project – DHA City Karachi (DCK) – would complete on schedule by the end September 2011, project director Brig (retd) Rafique said during meeting on Wednesday.
The meeting of the DCK steering committee at the authority’s main office was presided over by DHA Administrator Brig Aamer Raza Qureshi to review the advanced stage of project’s master planning.
The DCK project director informed the participants of the meeting that the DCK’s master planning, conducted by a consortium of globally distinguished town planning and architectural consultants, has transformed into the end product.
“The completion of the master planning exercise would be followed by balloting for plot numbering,” he added. It may be recalled that around 20,000 residential and commercial plots of different sizes were allotted in the DCK Phase-I to prospective allotees in November 2009 without giving plot numbers as this was pending completion of the master planning.
The DHA administrator appreciated the novel approach adopted for the development of DCK’s master planning model that incorporates modern design features including earmarking of adequate open and green spaces, parking lots, spacious roads and separate amenities, commercial and recreational areas in accordance with contemporary architectural concepts. He said that the project has been planned in a manner that it will provide a modern, secure and comfortable living environment to its residents.
The DCK lead concept planner, Prof Spiro Pollalis highlighted the details of sector development plan, landscape planning, streets planning incorporating culs-de-sac concept and key features of residential sector, central business zone, down town district, educational and health care facilities and details of parametric planning. He said that plot numbering in residential sector has been done in a flexible manner to optimally utilise the allocated area. As a result extra spaces have been created in the area. Some extra size plots would now be available to be offered to the allotees as per the stipulated procedure.
DCK consultants’ team leader, Arif Osmani presented the DCK transportation plan comprising a myriad of road networks, major intersections, collector roads, service roads, round-about, one way regimes and concept of using maximum public transport.
The public transport concept includes two street cars trams, articulated modern buses, pedestrian areas and parking lots, encouraging use of public transport instead of private vehicles and of developing a culture of walking/cycling for short distances in the DCK.
The project director reiterated that the project was quickly moving from the master planning stage towards the starting of physical development on the ground. He elaborated that the entrance gate (gateway to the DCK) design, boundary wall, mobilisation for construction of DCK staff accommodation, U-turn plan on Super Highway and geo-tech investigation for underground water exploration in the area has been finalised.