KARACHI, July 7: The Defence Housing Authority has unveiled a plan for the development of a 14-kilometre-long waterfront at an estimated cost of $600 million over a period of eight to ten years.

The plan was unveiled by the commander of 5 Corps, Lt-Gen Tariq Waseem Ghazi, who is also president of the DHA executive board, at a press briefing here on Monday.

Giving a detailed presentation, the DHA secretary, Col Ather Ali Khan, said the master-plan divided the waterfront of 14 kilometres into seven distinct zones (from A to G) in harmony with the terrain and beach characteristics.

He said: “The beach under the DHA jurisdiction is about 14 kilometres long, stretching from Sindbad (old Casino) up to the Golf Course. The approach that has been taken is to divide the entire area into zones and each zone becomes a hub of activity independently as well as integrated into the master-plan.”

He added that while developing the master-plan for the site due consideration had to be given to some key aspects. “The key aspects are establishing an interface between two negating requirements of having the required infrastructure and development without disturbing nature; the private dwellings of the residents extend up to the beach, which therefore is their private space. On the other hand, the waterfront itself is a public place and the way it is envisaged to be developed it will be frequented by a large number of public.”

Answering a question, Lt-Gen Ghazi said that quite a few foreign parties had expressed interest in the DHA waterfront development project. “Firms from Egypt, Lebanon and Malaysia have come forward to review the project. They might either take up a zone along the waterfront or decide to develop the waterfront in its entirety.”

In reply to a question, he said the DHA had signed agreements for the construction of a desalination plant and a power plant. “The power plant would generate 85 megawatts of electricity. The government has assured us about the availability of natural gas. The desalination would provide us with three million gallons of water per day. This is extendible to six million gallons of water per day.”

Answering a question, he explained that the city government was not involved in the development of the waterfront because the area was out of its jurisdiction. “The army is also not involved in the project. Only those servicemen who are in DHA are working on the project. Being commander of 5 Corps, I am head of the DHA executive board,” he said.