Synopsis

Visionary project by development authority expected to overcome urbanisation challenges

By the river

PHOTOS: MOHSIN RAZA/BOL NEWS

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LAHORE: Situated on the bank of Ravi River, Lahore is known as the heart of Pakistan; it is far more than just a metropolis.

The provincial capital is a hub of literature and culture.

However, like other cosmopolitan cities of the world, the metropolis faces debilitating challenges of governance, inequality, technology, resources, transportation and environment. To overcome these issues, in 2020, the Ravi Urban Development Authority (RUDA) launched the Ravi RiverFront Urban Development (RRFUD) project.

The Ravi has been marked by the passage of great historical and cultural events with its western bank being home to the tombs of Mughal Emperor Jahangir and his consort Noor Jahan as well as the famous Baradari. The famed Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites and their fountains once drew water from the Ravi. However, today the Ravi’s beauty has been marred by pollution and environmental degradation, and it awaits restoration and reclamation.

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But currently it is facing multiple challenges like scarcity of water, pollution and population shifts to urban areas.

Once these problems were identified, the Punjab government established the RUDA by virtue of an act of parliament in July 2020 and it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on September 16, 2020.

Speaking to Bol News, a senior official of RUDA said that the main objective of RUDA is to address the threats being faced by the Ravi in general and Lahore city in particular, and in order to both construct water reservoirs, water treatment plants alongside the riverbed to preserve water.

“Beside this, RUDA is also developing a sustainable city with modern technologies to preserve nature and build new landmarks for the country to attract tourists, investors and enhance urban housing in a planned manner,” he further said.

He added that the project has been envisioned to launch the country on the journey of development divided into three geographical phases.

“Each phase is expected to involve expenditure on the following broad components: Land acquisition (102k acres), river training and channelisation, waste-water treatment, public infrastructure (transport, power, communication, water supply, etc) and land development.”

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According to sources from the development sector, once completed, it will be the country’s first multipurpose smart city on a 46km-long riverfront. Ravi riverfront city reportedly comprised 102,000 acres to be developed in three phases.

“It will be a revival of Lahore’s lifeline, restoration of the ecosystem, creation of a new global economic hub, promotion of ecotourism and environmental sustainability through smart urbanisation. But … the project is currently halted due to Lahore High Court (LHC)’s stay orders,” the RUDA senior official commented. LHC Justice Shahid Karim in his judgment released on January 2, 2021 stay­ed the work on the RRFUD project till the app­roval of its Environ­mental Impact Assessment (EIA) report. Besides this, the LHC also asked the government to file a compliance report with regard to meeting environmental sta­n­dards in the Naya Pakistan Housing Project (NPHP).

Later on February 26, the LHC stayed acquisition of agricultural land for RRFUD project till March 2, 2021 and instructed the office to club all identical petitions for further proceedings. In all other interconnected petitions, the LHC had already stayed work on the project with a direction to the provincial government to appoint an international consultant to prepare the EIA for the project.

On November 3, 2021, LHC Justice Shahid dismissed the objection of the Punjab government and declared the petitions against the RRFUD project maintainable.

On Nov 2, 2021, Justice Shahid had reserved his verdict on the point of maintainability as the government’s lawyer argued that the petitions and stay orders previously issued became infructuous after the promulgation of the Ravi Urban Authority (Amendment) Ordinance 2021. On December 21, 2021, Justice Shahid reserved his judgment in a set of petitions challenging the land acquisition for the riverfront urban development project and violations of environmental laws by the RUDA.

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Future of infrastructure

Speaking to Bol News, a senior official of the RUDA said that once all the stay orders are vacated, it will be one of the largest riverfront cities of the world over an area of 102,000 acres.

Moreover, it will be home to over eight million people. The project is divided into 208 sectors and 12 major cities which act as a financial driver for the economy of the project. These include medical city, residential city, government city, innovation city, knowledge city, tourism and entertainment city, sports city, eco city, downtown, urban farms, commercial city and mixed use city.

He added that the first zone known as Sapphire Bay with an area containing approximately 2,000 acres is launched and a successful bidder is announced. The development rights of the phase have already been awarded and Ravi City has already attracted foreign investment worth more than $12 billion from across the globe.

Smart forests

He maintained that the first smart forest in Pakistan, another leading project under the umbrella of RUDA, was launched in the Rakh Jhoke area. Reportedly, there were plans to develop more smart forests in Rakh Shahdara, Jhuggian Arazl and others under RRFUD to meet UN SDG goals and to fight the climate crisis in Pakistan. For this purpose, RUDA joined hands with a multinational technology corporation as the ‘lead technology partner.’

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It will execute smart forest development in phases by harnessing key technologies such as internet of things, cloud computing, big data, AI, data centre network, storage and servers, data centre facility, intelligent security surveillance system and solar energy.

Knowledge city

RUDA has allocated around 150 acres of land at zone 9 in which the education institutions can set up their campuses, sports arenas, research labs, training institutes, promote entrepreneurial ecosystem by setting up incubation centres and accelerators and much more, revealed the official.

He maintained that the development authority is also launching a knowledge hub at an area ranging up to approximately 200 acres in Phase 1 where multiple national and international universities are on board to establish state of the art universities and R&D centres in this zone.

Industrial zone

Officials told Bol News that RUDA intends to launch the Industrial Zone B project with the help of the country’s renowned industrialists and also seeking investments from foreign investors to invest in this megaproject.  “Industrial zone has main access to Lahore-Sialkot Motorway and Lahore Ring Road. Most of the industrial estate has been developed along the major road infrastructure to provide effective trading services and boost the economy,” sources added.

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Emerald Bay

Another official said that to consider the importance of business hubs for the economic stability of the country and to compensate the affectees of Ravi project, RUDA is now inviting proposals from prospective investors, developers and companies including consortiums of investors for creating a state-of-the-art business hub known as Emerald Bay of an area ranging up to approximately 2,000 acres in Phase I, zone 2

Agri farms

The official added that RUDA has initiated a plan in which they are providing land of 200 acres for modern farming to overcome the shortage of food supply in Lahore and nearby cities.

“In Agri Park, RUDA is promoting modern techniques of farming and agri-tech to ensure the investors reach the required demand for food locally and internationally. Land cuts of 2.5 acres and five acres and more can be provided as per the investor’s requirement.”

An official stated that agriculture is the only taxation-free area of business at present. “The government supports programmes in the agriculture area, low interest rate on loaning facilities, demand and supply gap and duties on vegetables (around $4 billion imports) provided a chance for progressive farmers and business institutions to invest in the agriculture sector and fulfil the demand and supply gap and export their agriculture products.”

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The concept of agri farms is being developed to kick-start migration of low-yielding traditional farming towards modern farming techniques including hydroponics, aeroponics, aquaponics, apiculture (bee farming) and drones in modern farming.

Speaking to Bol News, Ahsan Raza, a Lahore-based journalist claimed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government awoke to Lahore’s urban developmental needs very late. “But it is better late than never.”

The ambitious project, however, may bring the country’s urban face on par with international cities, he added. “The project’s main feature is the rehabilitation of the River Ravi. Moreover, the city will grow vertically which means less space for more population and the trend may later grow in other parts of the country as well.”

For Raza the only drawback of the project is that it may hardly cater to the needs of people from lower-income backgrounds.

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