KARACHI, Oct 23: The city government has got summaries for the development of a skyline on a four-kilometer stretch along the beach approved by the Sindh government to ensure that no buildings of less than nine storeys are built along that area, officials in the CDGK told Dawn.

“The chief minister has formally approved the summaries for this plan and soon building regulations and bylaws would be devised to pave the way for the plan to develop a symmetrical skyline along the coastal area from Beach Park to the KPT’s oil terminal,” a senior CDGK official said.

He said the municipal authorities in the past had been trying to get the plan approved by the provincial government but they did not succeed. It took a couple of decades for municipal officials to convince the provincial government about a project bound to offer a skyline of its own to Karachi and to enhance its beauty, he added.

City Nazim Mustafa Kamal confirmed the information adding that it was part of the city government’s plans to develop and beautify the coastal areas of Karachi.

“It will be part of the same sequence as that of Beach Park and Bagh Ibn-i-Qasim, which are one of the best parks we have,” he said.

He said the chief minister had approved the plans and it would not take much time to implement it.

“It might not be completed in my tenure, but our coast will start wearing a beautiful look during our term,” he said.

Mr Kamal said once all the modalities were set, no building less than ground-plus nine storeys would be permitted in the designated area.

These buildings would be commercial plazas and it would be ensured that they should be self-sufficient in all the necessary facilities.

“The owners of the buildings will be bound to acquire their own desalination plant for water supply. Besides, every owner will install a sewerage treatment plant and power generators in his building,” said Mr Kamal, adding that sufficient parking spaces would also be mandatory for every building so that they could not add to the already worsening traffic problem.

The development of the city’s coastal belt of over 100 kilometres has been an unfulfilled dream for its people. The CDGK has unveiled its plans for its four-kilometre long limits but multiple agencies owning the city’s shoreline having no such projects so far. The city’s coastal belt has the Hub River Mount at the one end and the Cape Mount, Gizri Creek, Clifton and Manora on the other.

Such city government’s plans are aimed at pure commercialization of its coastal area but there are few projects with various agencies that could ensure fun and joy for Karachi’s millions of people at affordable cost.

In the past, the defunct Karachi Development Authority had built a road from Mauripur to the Paradise Point for picnickers but the government did not allow the KDA to collect toll tax, which discouraged other agencies from developing the beach.

Sources in the city government said there were still various projects aimed at developing the beach submitted by different agencies pending approval because of differences in three tiers of the government.

Former city Nazim Niamatullah Khan had invited those Pakistanis living abroad to invest in coastal projects but failed to bring in anyone because of the notorious red-tape and his tussle with the provincial government. Investors from the United States, France, Malaysia and other countries visited Karachi a couple of years ago and showed interest in developing the city’s beaches but they returned discouraged mainly because of the fragile law and order situation and political instability here.