A New City Vision for Southern Karachi.
URBNITA was invited by Urban Eyes Advisory Consultancy to provide urban planning and design services for the Karachi New Urban District under the CPEC Country to Country (China – Pakistan) Development Framework. The project focuses on the redevelopment of southern Karachi as a high-quality waterfront district—upgrading living conditions, modernising the fishing economy and creating new jobs.
Framed within the Karachi Coastal Comprehensive Development Zone, the 9.3 Ha site is envisioned as a catalyst for Karachi’s next world-class waterfront destination. Strategically positioned along the Karachi’s evolving coastal edge, the project introduces a transformative urban intervention that redefines the relationship between the city, its communities, and the waterfront.
The masterplan is structured around three primary core districts: Waterfront Ecobay, Knowledge Town, and the International Diamond Island District. Each district is conceived as a complementary yet distinctive component, collectively forming a cohesive and future-forward urban ecosystem that integrates living, learning, leisure, and economic activation.
At the heart of the vision is Diamond Bay Waterfront, a regenerative urban framework anchored by two critical enabling moves: the resettlement of Machar Colony and the development of a new modern Fishery Port. These foundational interventions establish the socio-economic and infrastructural backbone necessary to unlock long-term, inclusive urban regeneration.
Building upon this foundation, the introduction of new urban districts—Waterfront Ecobay, Knowledge Town, and the International Diamond Island District—completes the broader development strategy. Together, they consolidate a comprehensive masterplan that positions the area as a key metropolitan destination, driving sustainable growth, enhancing livability, and elevating Karachi’s global waterfront identity.
Clarity in structure creates freedom in the city’s everyday life
The urban logic is organised around a strong central axis and a sequence of gateways and nodes that frame movement, visibility and public life. A city-park spine and green corridors function not as decoration, but as the project’s connective tissue—structuring blocks, defining frontages and ensuring that the waterfront remains continuous and accessible.
This diagrammatic approach also suggests a hierarchy: gateways mark arrival, a central node concentrates intensity and the waterfront corridor stitches the whole district into a single walkable narrative.
A district becomes resilient when it mixes livelihoods, learning and daily services
Programmatically, the project combines public amenities (healthcare, education, utilities, clean water and community facilities) with a waterfront economy anchored by a fishing port, creative industries and a business hub. The plan also establishes a precinct-based implementation logic—distinct zones that can be delivered in parts while remaining tied together by shared public space and mobility structure.
The public realm is conceived as a layered waterfront experience: continuous edges, active frontages and green corridors that pull the sea inward through parks and civic spaces. The masterplan emphasises promenades, marina-facing streets and large landscape rooms (including wetland-like areas) that suggest cooling, leisure and ecological performance—aiming to make the district not only productive, but also breathable and socially inclusive in its daily use.
A waterfront becomes valuable when it improves daily life and creates opportunity
Karachi New Urban District reframes the southern coastline as shared civic infrastructure—linking upgraded living conditions with a modern fishing economy, new jobs and a continuous public realm. Its value lies in delivering a connected, imageable waterfront that supports growth while expanding access to parks and services.