Six demolition companies have submitted to the District East administration a proposal to raze the Nasla Tower in Karachi, while 97% of the tower has already been vacated.
The District East office will interview these companies before finalising a demolition plan for Nasla Tower, The News reported Tuesday.
Earlier, the Karachi commissioner had set up an eight-member committee to evaluate and select express of interest sought from different companies to demolish the tower in a controlled implosion. The committee met on Monday, with East Deputy Commissioner Asif Jan Siddiqui in the chair.
The meeting was attended by one representative each of the Sindh police, Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO), NED University Civil Engineering Department head Abdul Jabbar Sangi, non-governmental organistion Shehri’s Amber Alibhai and assistant commissioner Asma Batool.
Batool confirmed to the publication that six companies had submitted their proposals to the committee. Four companies are based in Karachi, while one each of the other two are in Lahore and Islamabad.
The Lahore company is the only one that has agreed to demolish the building in a controlled implosion. It works in collaboration with a foreign company. To use a controlled implosion method, the company will carry out pre-demolition work that will take at least 120 days, Batool shared.
After a proper survey, she said, there is also a possibility that the Lahore-based company resorts to mechanical demolition.
She explained that the SBCA had not issued a completion certificate to the Nasla Tower, which was why one could not tell how safe it would be to demolish the building through an implosion.
At Monday’s meeting, it was decided that the Karachi companies would be interviewed today (Tuesday) and the Lahore and Islamabad ones tomorrow, after which a decision will be taken.
When asked about the cost of the demolition, Batool explained that as per the Supreme Court’s (SC) order, the builder would have to bear the cost, and if the builder refused, the land of Nasla Tower will have to be sold by the commissioner, which could also be a time-consuming task.
There are also a few companies that have agreed to demolish the Nasla Tower free of charge, only if they get their hands on the rubble after it.
