Hospitality expansion in Karachi

The security operations in Karachi over the last two years appear to have breathed a new air of positivity into the port city. The economic activity might just be picking up pace once again with the residents of Karachi and its business community putting their trust in the resilient city’s abilities; and where once observers saw a massive exodus of citizens out of Karachi for fear of life, peace efforts have revived demand for housing in the city like never before.
According to Pakistan’s largest property portal Zameen.com, average prices of 125 square yards plots in Karachi rose by 35.53 percent between November 2014 and November 2015, while the values of 500 square yards and 1,000 square yards plots posted increases of 26.07 percent and 23.61 percent, respectively, in the same period.
Life in the city is returning to better than normal, testimony of which can be found in various new projects being launched in many sectors of the economy. Perhaps it has been this very resurgence of economy that encouraged Pakistan Services Limited, owner and operator of the country’s largest hotel chain Pearl Continental, to expand its services in the industrial heart of the country.
The group runs Pearl Continental hotels in six cities across Pakistan and recently announced that it was looking to acquire property worth approximately Rs1.6 billion in Karachi for expanding its hospitality services.
Company officials point towards the overwhelming occupancy rates in existing hotels as the reason behind their plans to expand and build another hotel in Karachi. The firm’s expansion decision was made public following the board’s approval to the land acquisition.
The management’s decision to expand in Karachi should not come as a surprise. Besides being the port city, it headquarters dozens of multi-national corporations operating in the country. The industrial hub has been losing its shine due to the security, political, ethnic and religious skirmishes in the city. But with the hope that peace would gradually make inroads into the city, it might just be able to turn fortunes.