Naya Nazimabad: 4,000 plots swept up since launch of Karachi housing scheme

[Salman]

Karachi Property News > Naya Nazimabad: 4,000 plots swept up since launch of Karachi housing scheme


KARACHI:

It may be tough times for the Pakistani economy, but when it comes to buying property in Karachi, people are willing to part with a lot of hard-earned money if they are sure that their investment is safe from land grabbers.

Barely two months after it was launched, all of the Naya Nazimabad housing scheme’s 4,000 plots have been swept up. And on Sunday, the developers held balloting to allocate the plots to their owners. A computer decided who would get a corner plot and who got one in front of the park.

“There are so many guards here,” remarked Javed Siddiqui, who is a resident of Gulshan-e-Iqbal. “The security caught my attention the first time I came to see the place. Investing money in any other part of Karachi is too risky these days, especially for salaried people.”

Siddiqui was one of hundreds of people who came to attend the ceremony. The Naya Nazimabad City, a project by businessman Arif Habib, is a 20-minute drive from Water Pump Chowrangi in Federal B Area.

A single-storey house, with a covered area of 160 yards, is being offered at Rs3 million, with a down payment of Rs1.8 million. The remaining Rs1.2 million can be paid in installments. A plot of 120 square yards was sold at Rs0.84 million, 160 square yards for Rs1.12 million and 240 square yards for Rs1.6 million.

The sponsors, including stock investor Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, used security as their trump card to sell the project. With hills on one side and Manghopir Lake on the other, the scheme – spread over 1,200 acres of land – is gated and guarded.

Speaking at the ceremony, Habib said that construction of infrastructure will start soon. “We are in the process of awarding contracts,” he said. “The plots will be ready to be handed over to the owners in four years.”

After receiving an overwhelming response, the sponsors have decided to offer 550 plots to overseas Pakistanis in a few weeks. Four hundred flats are also being built.

The sponsors also hired around 150 Frontier Constabulary men for security because of the project’s proximity to the violence-hit Qasba Colony, Pakhtunabad and Baloch Goth.

But the FC personnel are temporary. “I know that the surrounding areas are underdeveloped and this is why we are investing money there as well.” According to him, the sponsors gave the Lyari Development Authority Rs1.4 billion to build roads and streets in the surrounding areas.

Happy investors

“The fact that this project was near my house right now attracted me. Most of the new housing schemes are outside Karachi,” said Syed Raees, who lives in North Nazimabad. “New Karachi and Federal B Area are nearby. So it is not that far for my family.”

The combined financial muscle of the Arif Habib Group, Abdul Karim Dhedhi and Haji Ghani Haji Usman, who is also a stockbroker, seems to have played part in wooing the people into responding enthusiastically. But many people at the ceremony were unsure if the sponsors had any experience in real estate development.

Bismillah Khan said that he bought a plot for religious reasons. “One of Karachi’s largest tableeghi congregations is held in Orangi, which is nearby,” he said. “And I also have a plot in Pakhtunabad, which is also nearby.”

Khan pointed to the people and said, “People from every background are here. This is good since problems erupt when colonies are divided because of ethnicity.”

No change

As the sponsors claimed that the price of plots in Naya Nazimabad increased by 20%, the people living a stone’s throw away in Mangophir, were fighting to get their property leased from the government. In fact, right now their homes and shops are not even recognised by the law.

The uneven roads are inundated by sewerage. A resident of the area, Zahid Baloch, laughed when asked to comment if Naya Nazimabad will change anything for him and his family. “Street lights have not been installed here in 60 years,” he said. “Maybe you should come back after another 60 years to seek my opinion.”