Karachi is the one of the biggest and busiest seaports in South Asia, being the 11th largest metropolitan city in the world. It formerly enjoyed the title of The City of Lights, which is though still true to it, but the lights now seem dimmed due to the wave of terrorist activities that have hit the city in the past few years. Also, the city did not receive an increased attention in the name of facilities as its population suddenly spiked in the 90s due to people pouring in from various other regions of Pakistan and also from the war-stricken Afghanistan. As a result, the city maintained its status of being the center of trade and activity, but did not remain as glorious as it used to be.
But recently, Karachi is going through a magnificent boom in construction including that of tall buildings with investors from Pakistan and abroad luxuriously being attracted towards them. Pakistan is also rich in architectural talent with some of the finest universities of the country producing innovative architects well versed in modern designs. These skyscrapers, out of which some are completed while others are under construction and yet others are being planned rapidly, are returning the city some of its glamour and charm.
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Aerial View Of Ocean Tower[/caption]Ocean tower, located in Clifton, Karachi, presently holds the status of being the tallest building in Pakistan at a height of 393 feet. It houses a shopping mall, food courts, corporate offices, a business club and much more. The tower is equipped with state-of-the-art technology for monitoring heat and smoke and numerous other facilities including its own 5 Megawatts powerhouse. The construction company claims that the skyscraper was completed at an estimated cost of PKR 7 billion (USD 71.3 million). [caption id="attachment_2929" align="alignright" width="235"]
MCB Tower[/caption]Before the completion of Ocean Tower in 2013, MCB Tower on II Chundrigar road, Karachi, was accepted to be the tallest building in Pakistan at a height of 381 feet, whereas the title is expected to be shifted to Bahria Icon Tower, which is presently under construction. It is expected to be completed by the end of 2014, and is going to be Pakistan’s first mega structure, consisting of a 62 story tower for a mega shopping mall and serviced corporate offices, with another 41 story tower adjacent to it for 5 star international hotels with serviced apartments. The tower is being constructed at one of the most prime locations in Karachi, Shahrah-e-Firdousi, close to the coastline.
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The Under Construction View of Bahria Icon Tower[/caption][caption id="attachment_2936" align="alignleft" width="183"]
Centre Point Tower[/caption]In addition, there are several other projects successfully completed such as Centre Point Tower (367 feet), G and T Tower (318 feet), Defence Regency Towers 1, 2, 3 (207 feet) and many others. Whereas many are under construction, such as UBL tower (110 meters, completed by the end of 2015), Lucky One Residential project (comprising eight towers, each having 28 floors) to name a few.
It’s lovely to see the city getting back on its feet amid all the chaos it has been going through. Though merely the construction of these tall and looming beauties cannot totally change the fate of the city but this is one of the many steps towards prosperity that the city is taking, and must be appreciated.
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