Supreme Court revokes ban on construction of high rise buildings in Karachi

The Supreme Court on Tuesday retracted its earlier decision to ban the construction of buildings with more than six storeys in Karachi, and ordered that new high rises can be erected in accordance with the law.

In March 2017, the Supreme Court had stopped the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and cantonment boards from issuing building approval plans for high-rise and multi-storey residential and commercial structures without the availability of proper water supply and sewerage systems. An SC bench, while hearing the case in Karachi registry today, retracted its order — much to ABAD Chairman Hasan Bakhshi's relief.

"We have suffered many difficulties these last two years," Bakhshi told media representatives outside the court. "This was a major problem for us. Our 500 projects were stuck for approval and another 500 projects' material was ready. Our Rs500 billion worth of investment was stuck.”

The court retracted its orders as Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar remarked that the retraction will also benefit Bahria Town.

Mr. Bakhshi offered his gratitude to the top court and offered his organization’s assistance to Prime Minister Imran Khan in his plan to construct five million houses during his tenure.