With 28 floors at a combined height of 393 feet and a power generation of five megawatts (MWs), the country’s tallest building – Ocean Towers (also called The Mall) – was inaugurated amid much fanfare in Karachi on Saturday“Today, after five years, Karachi has got the tallest building of the country that doesn’t even need the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) for its power needs,” boasted Ocean Towers Project Manager Ariful Islam, speaking at the inauguration ceremony.
Talking with Pakistan Today, Islam said the building will generate 5MWs electricity on its own, which is the highest self-generation in private capacity in the country. “Other buildings in Karachi like the MCB Tower and the Arif Habib Building produce 2MWs and 1.2MWs, respectively.” The Ocean Towers has alternative fuel options like gas- and diesel-fired power for the clients, while it has a car parking area for 600 cars and houses four cinemas, including a 3D cinema.
“The project has a retail area with around 200 shops with 175,000 square feet covered area and at the fifth floor, we have a dining area for high-end restaurants where 15 international brands are to open their outlets, with one of them being the California Ice Cream Parlour,” Islam added. “On the 19th floor, we have a health club and swimming pool with best security arrangements. A total of nine passenger lifts and five cargo lifts have been installed in the building.”
Speaking at the building’s inauguration, Triple Tree Associates’ Farooq Mehboob said the high-quality glass used in Ocean Towers reduces heat for better air conditioning. “All exit staircases in the building are designed in a way that they would not attract smoke in case of fire so that people inside can safely make their exit.”
“The building also has many monitors to efficiently monitor heat, smoke etc,” he added.