Excerpts from the Announcement

1. Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project
The following are excerpts from the announcement of the project:
The Urban Sector Planning and Management Services Unit, Pvt. Ltd (the Urban Unit) is a
company of the Government of Punjab. The Urban Unit, on behalf of Lahore Development
Authority (LDA), is inviting reputable international firms (consortium/joint ventures) to submit
Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the “Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project”
Lahore is faced with a number of challenges as a growing metropolis – unplanned growth,
competing land uses, congestion, pollution etc. Over the years, the lack of appropriate planning
initiatives has resulted in the viability of various development projects being compromised in the
long run. A major problem at hand pertains to the loss of freshwater reserves such as the Ravi
River, where close to 1,800 cusecs of Lahore city’s untreated sewage is dumped daily…
In view of the city’s projected expansion towards the south and the west in the long run, the
Government of Punjab plans to carry out riverfront (and urban) development on both sides of
the Ravi riverbank along a 33 km long stretch ….
The overall scope of the proposed project entails:
1. A major cleanup of the Ravi including provisions for wastewater / sewage treatment
according to National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS – 2000 & 2012) for water bodies;
hydraulic studies, water availability & options for additional inflows in the Ravi, river training
works etc.
2. Development of flood containment area and to cater to different levels of flood
scenarios.
3. River channelization for an estimated length of 33 KM.
4. Master plan for riverfront and urban development including residential, commercial,
academic, recreational, mixed use and light industrial zones.
5. Master plan for all public infrastructure and services including transport and utility.
6. Establishment of institutional and regulatory frameworks to govern and manage the
new riverfront urban development.
2. The Project Area
Figure 1 (below) shows the overall limits of the project area in the regional context. The project
area is broadly divided into 2 zones as delimited by the flood containment zone and the
riverfront development zone.

2. 4. Purpose of the Consultancy
A key challenge of the proposed riverfront urban development project concerns the
environmental sustainability of the Ravi River as a major natural feature in Lahore’s landscape.
This includes paying attention to the requirements of biodiversity protection and the
conservation of sensitive environmental characteristics. Additionally, the facilitation of long-term
socio-economic initiatives that addresses the needs of Lahore’s growing urban population –
both in terms of housing as well as being able to benefit from economic and income earning
opportunities that the metropolis may offer. Of key concern is the provision of high quality urban
services and infrastructure distribution networks aimed at facilitating urban expansion in a
meaningful manner, including the appropriate technological interventions concerning sewage
treatment so as not to compromise on the Ravi River’s sustainability.
The consultants are expected to:
1. Carry out baseline assessments of different environmental / physical characteristics
based on the data made available by the client, and through site visits and field investigations.
1.1. The assessment will broadly pertain (but not be limited) to the existing geological /
hydrological / topographic conditions, meteorological and climatological conditions, water
resources (including canals, river channel, groundwater etc.), flood projections, biodiversity,
solid waste, water supply and sanitation, transportation networks / vehicular as well as non
vehicular traffic etc.

3. 1.2. Additional assessment will relate to existing socio-economic dynamics as well as an
analysis of existing economic / industrial activities, projected growth in the population, projected
demand for housing, electricity, gas, telecommunication services, transport facilities etc.
1.3. Existing constraints relating to the provision of utility, telecommunications and
transport infrastructure are to be identified.
2. Prepare an overall conceptual framework aimed at addressing the current context and
constraints in which urban development is to take place as well propose ways to proceed further
through a programmatic framework. The conceptual plan should at least:
2.1. Outline the issues relating to flood scenarios and flood containment as well as the
likely impact of potential flood events on development along the riverfront.
2.2. Assess the issues related to sewage disposal and wastewater treatment along the
Ravi River.
2.3. Identify and examine factors pertaining to the current carrying capacity of the river
channel as well projected scenarios.
2.4. Discuss the basis and the assumptions on which projections are made –
demographic as well as the future demands for utility, telecommunications, transportation,
housing etc.
2.5. Propose different scenarios with respect to mix-used development, supply and
distribution of infrastructure services.
2.6. Identify and propose mechanisms to facilitate the growth of sustainable economic
activities that would benefit a cross-section of the society. Suggestions should refer to projected
demographic increase in the long run and the type of economic activities and institutional
arrangements that could be introduced to address the demand for jobs in the future. This would
further include a discussion on what types of commercial / industrial portfolios to introduce and
their implications on zoning and land use, as well as the consequences for transportation to
facilitate movement to and from commercial/industrial zones.
2.7. Highlight the ways in which the existing transportation and road networks may be
upgraded and / or re-routed / added upon with respect to the project area and its surrounding
localities. This would further require an understanding of the different types of vehicular and
non-vehicular traffic that presently exist and are likely to remain in the foreseeable future.
2.8. Considering the international best practices for infrastructure development financing,
propose different project financing scenarios like public private partnerships, land value capture,
impact fee, etc. for undertaking large-scale public infrastructure works. One of the key
objectives is to design and implement the project in such a manner that it generates adequate
revenue streams to bear its capital cost and make it financially self sustainable in the long run.
2.9. Based on the above assessments, the consultancy should provide a programmatic
framework of design, development and intervention, which will prioritize the key project
components as well as the locations of interest where development is to be initiated. This
framework should further identify the different line agencies / departments that are to collaborate
on specific project components.

4. 3. Prepare schematic designs based on the above-mentioned analyses and proposed
frameworks.
4. The master plan should not only consider the overall scope of the project but also
identify opportunities for integrated area development concomitant with specific project
locations.
5. Undertake the feasibility of different project components. This component should
address the implications of different project financing mechanisms and institutional
arrangements on the viability of the project.
Lahore Conservation Society Position on the Project
This is an amazing project, in both a positive and negative sense. Positive, because some aspects
are consistent with much of the deliberations, findings and proposals of the Ravi River
Commission set up by the Lahore High Court Green Bench, as well as our own deliberations in
The Lahore Project (TLP). But negative, because in other respects it is another potential mega-disaster
by design!
The good news is that:
The overall scope of the proposed project entails:
1. A major cleanup of the Ravi including provisions for wastewater / sewage treatment
according to National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS – 2000 & 2012) for
water bodies; hydraulic studies, water availability & options for additional inflows in
the Ravi, river training works etc.
2. Development of flood containment area and to cater to different levels of flood
scenarios.
3. River channelization for an estimated length of 33 KM.
Yes, we do support cleaning of the river;
Using its potential as a key element in the water cycle, (source, supply, treatment and re-cycling);
Training and developing the flood plain for water storage lakes, treatment ponds, wetland
ecology and flood control;
Creating a large nature reserve and recreational facility; and
Developing a rich resource for food and timber.
But then there is the bad news: it also entails:
4.Master plan for riverfront and urban development including residential,
commercial, academic, recreational, mixed use and light industrial zones.
5. Master plan for all public infrastructure and services including transport and utility.
6. Establishment of institutional and regulatory frameworks to govern and manage the new
riverfront urban development.

5. And
A key component of the consultancy is to develop various project financing options like
Public Private Partnership frameworks, land value capture, land pooling, cost sharing, etc.
This is just one more in the series of opportunistic development projects that have “over the years”
… resulted in the viability of various appropriate planning initiatives “being compromised in the long
run.”
- There have been at least three approved urban development plans for Lahore. None of
them have proposed urban expansion into the Ravi flood plain.
- The LDA and Urban Unit's own Integrated Strategic Development Plan was announced
last year. This was to be a major regional planning exercise to provide a framework for
Lahore’s future urban development. But the Ravi Riverfront project has thrown a spanner
in the works by putting the cart before the horse and by creating more 'facts on the
ground' before the strategic planning exercise has even taken off.
- The project makes no reference to the recently approved Lahore Urban Transport Master
Plan, which does not envisage urban development in the Ravi River flood plain.
As Pakistan’s leading urban planner Arif Hassan has said, there is no longer any such thing as
“planning”, we only have “projects”. The standard operating procedure is that global finance
capital, in the form of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) or corporate business investors,
identify a lucrative investment opportunity (usually public and environmental assets such as
forest reserve, ocean coast, railways, canals, village commons (shamlaat), or historic town. They
put together a “project” which includes public/sovereign guarantees for payments of investor’s
profits. The poisonous pill is then sugar-coated with mouth-watering catch-phrases and ‘sold’ to
the government and the public in attractive packaging including sustainability, poverty
alleviation, income generation, foreign investment, progress, development, economic growth,
public/private partnership and the like. These mega-projects produce mega-bucks for consultants,
contractors, financiers and corporate business, but result in mega-disasters for the environment
and the effected populations.
- The Canal widening project was ‘sold’ under the cover of reduction of traffic congestion and
pollution, but actually resulted in cutting of hundreds of trees, increase in traffic volumes with its
concomitant pollution and the destruction of a unique environmental asset of the city, making
what was left of it inaccessible to the citizens;
- The Rapid Bus Transport project was ‘sold’ under the cover of public transport, but actually
resulted in a mega-construction of an aerial motorway, that divided well integrated
neighborhoods, destroyed the view of numerous historic buildings, deprived social infrastructure
sectors like health and education of urgently needed funds. The city already had a road network
with adequate capacity. It needed better traffic management and replacement of private motor
vehicles with buses. It got an aerial motorway instead. The cost of which could have bought
enough buses to meet the needs of not only the city but of the entire province;
- The Walled City Project was ‘sold’ under the cover of poverty alleviation, income generation,
sustainable development and heritage conservation, but has actually resulted in inflated property
values, a land grab mafia, depopulation, and loss of culturally valuable properties, which are
being replaced by warehouses, plazas, boutique hotels and up-market catering establishments;

6. - The Lahore Cantonment Housing Society, ‘sold’ as a welfare scheme for retired army officers,
has actually morphed into the Defense Housing Authority that has dispensed with the fig leaf of
serving any defense needs, and gone way beyond the Cantonment Area into unabashed real estate
development that has transformed huge chunks of green agricultural land use into high-end urban
development, in violation of all ‘master planning’ provisions for the city; displacing rural
populations and cordoning off entire village settlements that have refused to abandon their
homes;
(See video titled River Ravi Boulevard. This video was made as a marketing promotional
for this very project, more than four years ago. It is now uploaded on the official PMLN
YouTube page, so obviously the ruling party has bought into the idea.)
In the latest episode in this series “The LDA has planned to launch a housing scheme named
LDA City at Ferozpur Road. The scheme will be launched on the basis of land sharing
methodology between land owners and the LDA.
Being the largest scheme in LDA’s history, it would be a state -of-art urban development
project, providing housing units to the people. This project includes buildings and
modern commercial centers aiming to give boost to the economic life.” (Public
announcement)
Our (TLP) studies have shown conclusively that there is no need to expand the urban area of
Lahore. There is more than enough space and invested infrastructure capacity in the existing
developed urban area to accommodate the projected doubling of the population over the next 25
years!
The realities of economic life are that most of the wealth of the region ( 62%) is accumulated in
the city. But instead of a better quality of life for most of the citizens this has produced:
- Acute income disparity ( 80% of households below poverty level);
- High unemployment (>27% of working population, 99% of female resident population);
- Environmental degradation;
- Conversion of green, agricultural and other ‘open’ land into high-end urban
developments;
- Majority of developed urban land (90%) comprises low-density (less than 150 persons
per hectare), for the rich minority (42% of the population), while the poor (58 % of the
population) are crammed into a tiny proportion of the urban area (10%), at densities over
a thousand persons per hectare.
To “boost the economic life” of the people we do not need “state-of-art urban development
projects providing housing units … buildings and modern commercial centers”. We need a
radical shift in our planning strategies and priorities including the following:
- Taxation of non-essential consumption and investment of revenues in social
infrastructure. This will:
o reduce income disparities;
o provide better quality of life; and
o reduce unemployment;
- Organic farming and artisanal manufacture. This will:

7. o reduce unemployment;
o improve balance of payments;
o produce healthier food;
o reduce of environmental degradation;
o result in 100% recycling; and
o zero waste
- Pedestrian circulation. This will:
o Reduce motor vehicle traffic;
o Reduce traffic accidents;
o Reduce noise and air pollution;
o Reduce dependence on non-renewable energy;
o Save foreign exchange;
o Permit higher densities;
o Provide space for social infrastructure including recreation;
o Provide for better community integration;
- Equitable utilization of urban resources including land and invested infrastructure. This
will:
o Rationalize urban densities;
o create space for social infrastructure (education, health, recreation etc.) in high
density areas; and
o optimize utilization of surplus capacity in low-density areas;
- Control of urban expansion. This will:
o Conserve green areas including agriculture, forests and water bodies;
o Reduce utility infrastructure costs;