KARACHI: Seventy-five thousand allottees suffer, as the largest coastal housing scheme of Karachi, Hawksbay Scheme 42 has been in limbo for more than 40 years, due to sheer negligence of Sindh government and its Lyari Development Authority (LDA), said Pasban Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.
He said the Hawksbay Scheme 42 is a large-scale public housing project in Karachi, initiated by the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) back in 1984 and later transferred to the Lyari Development Authority (LDA) in 1996.
Spanning over 6,000 acres along the coastal belt west of the megacity, it was designed as Asia’s largest residential scheme at the time, divided into 71 sects with around 75,000 plots ranging from 80 to 400 square yards, primarily aimed at providing affordable seaside housing for low- and middle-income families.
He said the project was intended to accommodate up to 57,000 families, making it a significant initiative for addressing Karachi’s housing shortages amid rapid urbanization.
He said it the worst example of bad governance that this mega scheme is in limbo for about half a century. He said only the governments like the PPP government in Sindh could afford the bad governance of this scale.
He said reviving this scheme is overdue now. He said economically, reviving the scheme could stimulate Karachi’s construction sector, create jobs, and boost overall megacity growth by developing underutilized coastal land.
Socially, it promised accessible homeownership for ordinary citizens, including overseas Pakistanis who were allotted plots via ballots in the 1980s and 1990s.
Overall, it represents a critical opportunity for planned urban expansion in Karachi, a city plagued by informal settlements and infrastructure deficits, potentially easing pressure on overcrowded central areas.
Altaf Shakoor said the project has been in limbo for nearly four decades, remaining largely undeveloped and unpopulated despite initial allotments.
As of late 2025, no significant progress has occurred, with development goals unfulfilled and most allottees unable to build or occupy their plots.
He said due to the classic negligence of the LDA basic utilities like water and electricity are absent in much of the area.
A main water line was installed in 2008 at a cost of Rs250 million but remains unconnected to sources like the Hub Dam, while development work halted due to lack of funds—requiring an estimated Rs30 billion to complete.
The LDA has cited unreleased funds from the KDA (promised Rs47 Crore) as a major barrier, though plans to auction commercial plots for revenue were announced for early 2025 but not executed by year’s end.
He said Hawksbay Scheme 42 is a textbook example of corruption and bad governance. He said now many allottees are considering this scheme as a “massive scam” where billions were collected from allottees without delivering services or secure titles.
Moreover, some organised mafias, in collusion with officials from entities like the Sindh Board of Revenue and local government, have encroached on land, illegally occupying and selling portions as the area’s value rose. Political parties, particularly the ruling PPP, are allowing informal settlements to expand for vote banks, further complicating evictions and development.
On the top of it, overlapping land claims involve multiple authorities, including the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), which asserts jurisdiction over coastal areas and has filed suits against encroachments.
He said despite occasional promises, such as LDA’s 2025 lease issuance plan, the scheme’s status remains stagnant, leaving investors frustrated and the area prone to further illegal occupations.
He said the Hawksbay Scheme 42 is now seen as emblematic of broader governance failures in Karachi’s urban planning, giving the ruling PPP a bad name.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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