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Bahria Icon Tower

Bahria Icon Tower
بحریہ آئکون ٹاور
Bahria Icon in 2021
Map
General information
StatusTopped-out
LocationBahria Town Icon Tower, #5, Block 4, Shahrah-e-Firdousi, Clifton, Karachi-75600, Pakistan
Coordinates24°48′42.48″N 67°1′43.25″E / 24.8118000°N 67.0286806°E / 24.8118000; 67.0286806,
Construction started2009
Topped-out2017
CompletedMarch 2016
CostUSD $162.5 million[4]
OwnerBahria Town
Height
Tip980 feet (300 m)[2][3]
Roof984.25 ft (300 metres)[1]
Technical details
Floor count62 + 7 below ground
Floor area24,009,000 sq ft 551.171 acres (2,230,500 m2)
Lifts/elevators16
Design and construction
Architect(s)Arshad Shahid Abdullah (Pvt.) Ltd.
DeveloperBahria Town
Structural engineerBEG Associates, ESS.I.AAR.
Main contractorHabib Rafiq (Pvt.) Ltd.
Other information
Parking1,700 spaces
Website
bticon.com

Bahria Icon Tower is a skyscraper complex in the seaside municipality of Clifton in Karachi, Pakistan. The complex includes a 62-storey tower, which at 980 feet (300 m),[2][3] is the tallest building in Pakistan and among the tallest buildings in South Asia.[5][6] The complex also includes an adjacent 42-storey building[7] and is owned by the Bahria Town Group. The construction of Bahria Icon Tower was started in 2009 and completed in March 2016. Further development of the complex has been on hold since 2021.[8]

Bahria Town Icon

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Bahria Town Icon is a 62-storey, 984-foot (300 m) skyscraper in the skyscraper complex, Bahria Icon Tower.

Bahria Hotel Tower

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Bahria Hotel Tower is 42-storey, 656-foot (200 m) skyscraper in the skyscraper complex, Bahria Icon Tower.

Mall of Karachi

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Mall of Karachi is a mall located in Bahria Hotel Tower and Bahria Town Icon, it is spread across eight floors.

Location

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The complex is based on a four acre plot in the up-scale Clifton area,[9] and is immediately adjacent to the Bagh Ibne Qasim park, and shrine of Abdullah Shah Ghazi[10] - an 8th-century mystic who is widely regarded as the patron saint of Karachi.[11]

History

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Construction began in 2009.[12] During its construction, excavations for the foundations caused inconvenience for traffic flow.[13] It was topped out in October 2017.[14] In November 2018, a small fire broke out at the site where a marriage hall and cinema were being installed.[15] Fireworks were shown on its completion.[16] Construction had been slow and marred by allegations of corruption against the owner of Bahria Group, Malik Riaz.[17]

In May 2025, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) announced plans to auction Bahria Icon Tower due to a tax default of Rs. 26.46 billion. The auction was scheduled for June 19, 2025, under the provisions of Section 138(2)(a) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 to recover unpaid taxes.[18] However, on June 13, 2025, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued a stay order, halting the auction process. This came after a petition filed by Bahria Town, asserting that it was not involved in the £190 million NAB Al-Qadir Trust case corruption case.[19]

Further development of the complex has been on hold since 2021.[8]

Details

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The main building consists of 10 floors of serviced corporate offices and 40 floors of serviced apartments, Pakistan's highest located terraced restaurant, a double-decker high speed elevator, and a shopping mall.[20][21][22] The building will be serviced by 16 high-speed elevators.[14] It will have a carpark with 1,700 spaces,[23] and total area of 24,008,902 ft2 (2,230,500 m2).[23]

It has 62 floors above ground, and 7 below ground.[12] It is made of reinforced concrete with a glass facade.[12] Steel was procured by Cellpor,[24] and produced in conjunction with the Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal conglomerate.[25] It is expected to be complete by March 2023.

Honors and awards

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The design won architectural design awards for efficient use of space and maximization of utility, including

  • Highly commended high-rise architecture, International Property Award winners from Asia Pacific 2012[26]
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Bahria Town ICON - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  2. ^ a b "Bahria Town Icon". 9 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b "62-storey Bahria Town Icon reaches structural completion". Pakistan Today.
  4. ^ D4Sys. "Welcome to Costveyors (Pvt.) Ltd.- Bahria Town Icon". Archived from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Khurram Shahzad (January 22, 2016). "Country's tallest building 'Bahria Town Icon' inaugurated in Karachi". Daily Pakistan. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  6. ^ Sam Neymra (January 24, 2016). "Country's Tallest Building Bahria Icon Tower Inaugurated In Karachi". TheNewsTrack. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Amp".
  8. ^ a b Omer, Shahab (2023-03-05). "Between a saint and a shrine: The curse of Bahria Icon Tower". Profit by Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  9. ^ "Executive Summary" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  10. ^ Mangi, Faseeh. "In the 'Best Hidden' Frontier Market, a Boom Signals a Pakistan Revival". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  11. ^ Hasan, Arif (27 April 2014). "Karachi's Densification". Dawn. Retrieved 6 December 2016. The other site is the over 1,200-year-old tomb of Ghazi Abdullah Shah, a descendant of Imam Hasan. He has become the patron saint of Karachi and his urs is an important event for the city and its inhabitants.
  12. ^ a b c "Bahria Town Icon, Karachi | 1193055 | EMPORIS". Emporis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  13. ^ Faiza Ilyas (July 23, 2014). "Outcry over Clifton high-rise, traffic project during Sepa hearing". Dawn Media. Dawn. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  14. ^ a b "62-storey Bahria Town Icon reaches structural completion - Pakistan Today". www.pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  15. ^ "Small fire breaks out in Bahria Icon Tower in Karachi's Clifton | SAMAA". Samaa TV. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  16. ^ "بحریا آئيکون پر آتشبازی". Jang group. Daily Jang. January 25, 2016. Archived from the original on 25 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  17. ^ Asad, Malik (2020-02-08). "Malik Riaz, others summoned in Bahria Icon Tower reference case". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  18. ^ "FBR schedules auction of Bahria Icon Tower, Mall of Islamabad to recover Rs26bn in taxes". Profit by Pakistan Today. 2025-05-29. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  19. ^ Asad, Malik (2025-06-13). "IHC stays NAB's planned auction of Bahria Town properties". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2025-08-11.
  20. ^ "90% work completed of Bahria Town Icon, will be inaugurated today - Pakistan - Dunya News". dunyanews.tv. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  21. ^ "Pakistan's tallest building 'Bahria Town Icon' inaugurated". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  22. ^ "Infrastructure development: It's time to fly over Clifton - The Express Tribune". The Express Tribune. 2015-05-01. Retrieved 2016-05-31.
  23. ^ a b "Bahria Town ICON - The Skyscraper Center". www.skyscrapercenter.com. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  24. ^ "Cellpor Building Solutions". www.cellpor.com.
  25. ^ "Cellpor Building Solutions". www.cellpor.com. Retrieved 2020-04-14.
  26. ^ "Asia Pacific 2012". Archived from the original on 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2015.
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Media related to Bahria Icon Tower at Wikimedia Commons