Bahria Town Group

Bahria Town (Private) Limited () is an Islamabad-based privately employee-owned real-estate development company that owns, develops, and manages properties across Pakistan.

It established its first gated community in Rawalpindi/Islamabad. Its second gated community opened in Lahore. In 2015, it launched Bahria Town Karachi, the largest of its gated communities, while the Bahria Enclave Islamabad (launched in 2013) is the smallest of them. Most of these communities are large towns in their own right; its oldest community in the Southern Rawalpindi/Islamabad area spans over . The under-construction Bahria Town Karachi spans over , making it the largest privately owned residential community in the country.

The companies subsidiaries include the Mall of Lahore and the under-construction Mall of Islamabad, a chain of cinemas under the brand Cine Gold, a chain of supermarkets under the banner of Green Valley Hypermarket and skyscrapers including the Bahria Icon Tower, which is the tallest building in Pakistan. The group is also the developer of Grand Jamia Mosque, Lahore, which is the seventh largest in the world and is constructing the third largest mosque in Karachi. The under-construction Rafi Cricket Stadium, when completed, will also be the largest in the country. In November 2016, Bahria entered into a contract with Hyatt to develop four properties across Pakistan, including two golf resorts, worth a combined $600 million. The properties would be owned by Bahria.

ACE International Academy is also a project of Bahria Town.
Bahria projects usually house upper-middle and high-income Pakistanis; these communities have private security, the ability to restrict access to non-residents and are energy independent from the national grid. Bahria gated communities are home to private schools, including those operated by the company, private hospitals, hotels, and commercial avenues. Bahria has been featured by several international news agencies.

Communities

Bahria Town Islamabad/Rawalpindi

Bahria Town Rawalpindi is the oldest and first project of Malik Riaz. Bahria Town Rawalpindi is mostly located in Rawalpindi, it is sometimes referred to as Bahria Town Islamabad because of it partially being in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

The original gated community has over 100,000 people and has series of projects. It is divided into various phases and smaller projects. Unlike other housing societies in Pakistan, Bahria produces its own electricity and sells it to its residents through the Bahria Town Electric Supply Company. Bahria Town projects in Rawalpindi and Lahore were running respectively 12 and 9 megawatts of generation units of their own. Bahria Town also has constructed 3 grid stations with its own resources and also provides underground lines to its residents.

Bahria Enclave Islamabad

Bahria Enclave is a housing scheme launched by Bahria Town in July 2011. It is located approximately 8 km from Chak Shahzad, the Park Road, and the Kuri Road, with access from Srinagar Highway, Lehtrar Road, and Islamabad Highway. On January 31, 2012, Capital Development Authority approved the plan for development of Jinnah Avenue in Zone-IV. The construction project of four-lane road would link main Kuri Road to Kuri Model Village and was awarded to Bahria Town.

Bahria Town Lahore

It is a flagship gated community in Lahore. The community is home to the Grand Jamia Mosque, Lahore which is the seventh largest mosque in the world which has a total capacity of 70,000 people.

Bahria Town Karachi

Bahria Town Karachi is a privately developed, gated community located northeast of Karachi, Pakistan, along the M-9 Motorway. Covering an area of 46,000 acres (72 sq mi; 19,000 ha), it is one of the largest private real estate developments in Pakistan, undertaken by the Bahria Town Group since 2014.

Bahria Town Nawabshah (Shaheed Benazirabad)

Bahria Town Nawabshah () is a currently constructed privately owned gated community of Benazirabad, Sindh, Pakistan.

The location of Bahria Town Nawabshah is to be located at Qazi Abdullah Road, on the bank of Rohri Canal Nawabshah.

Shopping malls

Skyscrapers

Hospitality

On November 14, 2016, Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Bahria Town Group entered into an agreement in Abu Dhabi to develop four properties in Pakistan worth over $600 million. All properties are under construction as of 2016.

Recognition and awards

After success at the national level, Bahria has been featured by international magazines and news agencies, referred to as the prosperous face of Pakistan. ''GlobalPost'' claimed that in 2013, Bahria houses some 100,000 people in total. ''Newsweek'' calls it as Pakistan's "Gateway to Paradise". On October 6, 2011, ''Los Angeles Times referred to'' Bahria as a "functioning state within a non-functioning one". Regardless of that Bahria has been subject to controversies, it is referred to as a symbol of inequality, blamed for illegal encroachment of forests and unholy alliances with the military.

Controversies

Bahria has been subject to controversies; it is referred to as a symbol of inequality and blamed for illegal encroachment of forests.

To begin with, the name 'Bahria' itself has been controversial, and in 2018, a senior court in Pakistan ruled against the use of this name by the private owners of the project.
Ayesha Siddiqa, a civilian military analyst and author of ''Military Inc.: Inside Pakistan's Military Economy'', alleges that those links have allowed him to acquire land, in some cases returning a percentage to senior officers as developed plots.
Chief Executive of Bahria Town, Ali Riaz Malik, has submitted his statement regarding Arsalan Iftikhar (son of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry) suo moto case in the Supreme Court of Pakistan that Bahria Town was not behind any allegations against Arsalan and that the court's proceedings were not aimed at investigating the affairs of Bahria Town. The written reply also said that if any statement were made against Bahria Town or against its administration, then the organization would have the right to respond to it.

In April 2016, Malik Riaz Hussain's son, Ahmed Ali Riaz Malik, was named in the Panama Papers.

Dispute with Nayatel and CCP fine

In August 2016, a complaint from a resident of Bahria Town was forwarded to the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) which revealed that Bahria Town was deliberately preventing other fixed-line service providers from expanding into Bahria Town, and thus giving PTCL the majority of the market share in the housing society. It was also in violation of the Competition Act (2010) by abusing its dominant position and entering into a prohibited agreement.

Six months later, CCP imposed a fine on Bahria Town of 2 million PKR for deliberately not issuing a NOC (No-Objection Certificate) to Nayatel in Phases 1 to 6.

Bahria Town has been directed to work with Nayatel to lay its fiber optic network in Phases 1 to 6.

See also

*List of largest companies in Pakistan
* Developments in Islamabad

References

External links

Official website

{{Bahria Town Group

Real estate companies of Pakistan
Construction and civil engineering companies of Pakistan
Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1997
Real estate companies established in 1997
Pakistani companies established in 1997