The Greater Iqbal Park

Lahore, Pakistan

City population: 11130000

Duration: 2015 – 2018

Implementation status: Completed

Scale: Micro-scale: District/neighbourhood level

Project area: 505857 m²

Type of area: Cultural Heritage Area, Public Greenspace Area

Last updated: March 2023

The Greater Iqbal Park is one of Lahore's largest and most beautiful parks and is located in the suburbs of the Walled City of Lahore. The park was built in 1971 and is named after the national poet of Pakistan, Allama Iqbal (7). The redevelopment of Greater Iqbal Park was approved in 2015 by the Government of Punjab. The project was developed under the supervision of the Parks and Horticulture Authority (PHA). The landscape plan was designed by the joint collaboration of national (NESPAK) and international (Sites International) consultants. The on-ground earthwork and construction were carried out by Habib Construction Services, a Pakistan-based engineering construction company (1, 5, 4, 11). The design idea of the project focused on revamping the area to create a welcoming environment in the environs of the city’s densely populated areas (6). The project aimed to renovate and preserve Minar-i-Pakistan Monument and expand the area of the park to 125 acres. It features elaborate walkways and manicured gardens with state-of-the-art landscaping to boost tourism opportunities The project envisioned enhancing the cultural heritage by creating green spaces with various species of plants and trees along the park to ensure efficient facilities for the users. The 125-acre green oasis is surrounded almost entirely by the old city of Lahore (1, 3, 4, 11, 12). The park was inaugurated in December 2016 with state-of-the-art facilities for users, whereas the overall project including the development of the National Museum was completed in 2018. The park has been designed in a manner that its aerial view resembles the national symbol of the star and the crescent. (3,11)

Aerial View of Greater Iqbal Park Lahore

Source: (Ref: 2)

Overview

Nature-based solution

Parks and urban forests
Large urban parks or forests

Key challenges

Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Green space creation and/or management
Cultural heritage and cultural diversity
Preservation of natural heritage
Protection of historic and cultural landscape/infrastructure
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Tourism support

Focus

Creation of new green areas, Maintenance and management of urban nature

Project objectives

The redevelopment of the Greater Iqbal Park has been framed as a complex project with the main aim being to deliver an environmental product which can comprise the history of Pakistan until 1947. More specifically, the goals were described as follows: 1. To create a welcoming environment in the environs of the city’s densely populated areas by expanding the total area of the park. 2. To highlight the struggle and sacrifices rendered by Muslims over the movement for Pakistan with the renovation of the Minar-i-Pakistan Monument. 3. To provide better community services and economic opportunities for the inhabitants of the area where the park is located. 4. To plant various local and exotic tree species as well as lush greenery in the park to enhance the green area. (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11, 12)

Implementation activities

The development of the Greater Iqbal Park project was approved in 2015 by the Government of Punjab. The project was inaugurated and opened for public use in December 2016, and the National Museum was opened in 2018. The landscape design plan was developed by national and international consultants to ensure excellent facilities in the park. The project aimed to increase the park size to 125 acres and provide state-of-the-art facilities in the park to facilitate residents and boost tourism potential (4, 6, 11). The project resulted in the restoration of the Minar-e-Pakistan monument and green space was created in a much bigger area with various plants and trees. It enhanced the amenities in the parks by developing an artificial lake which spreads over four acres and includes an 800-foot-long musical fountain. Other attractions include a two-kilometre-long soft rail, a library, National Museum, an open-air gym, food courts and three designated parking spots. The project also enhanced the illumination, irrigation system, security, and surveillance system in the park to meet modern requirements (1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 11 ). Kachnar (phanera variegate), Amaltas (Cassia fistula), Tabebuia (Tabebuia rosea) and Neem (Azadirachta indica) trees, as well as various plants and trees of exotic species, were also planted in the park through its contractors (12).

Main beneficiaries

Local government/Municipality
Citizens or community groups
Young people and children

Governance

Management set-up

Government-led

Type of initiating organisation

Regional government
Local government/municipality
Public sector institution

Participatory approaches/ community involvement

Unknown

Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project

The project was envisioned and approved by the Government of Punjab, Pakistan. The Park and Horticulture Authority (PHA), Lahore was assigned the task of successful implementation of the project. The funds for project development including enhancing green space areas and adjoining nearby cultural heritage places within one larger space had been generated by the Government of Punjab. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC) had also been actively involved in the design development. The landscape design had been prepared by Sites International as an international consultant and Nespak as the local consultant for the project. The project had been developed and implemented on-site by Habib Construction Services. (1, 5, 6)

Project implemented in response to ...

... an EU policy or strategy? No

... a national policy or strategy? Unknown

... a local policy or strategy? Unknown

Financing

Total cost

€2,000,000 - €4,000,000

Source(s) of funding

Public regional budget

Type of funding

Unknown

Non-financial contribution

Impacts and Monitoring

Environmental impacts

Green space and habitat
Increased green space area

Economic impacts

Increased property prices
Stimulate development in deprived areas

Socio-cultural impacts

Cultural heritage and sense of place
Increased sense of place identity, memory and belonging

Type of reported impacts

Expected impacts, No impacts reported

Presence of formal monitoring system

Unknown

Presence of indicators used in reporting

No evidence in public records

Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports

No evidence in public records

Availability of a web-based monitoring tool

No evidence in public records

References

1. Habib Construction Services. (2017). Development of Greater Iqbal. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
2. Developing Pakistan. (2018). Aerial View of Greater Iqbal Park Lahore. (Facebook). Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
3. Adnan, I. (2016). Green project: ‘Park extension to be completed within year’. The Express Tribune. Available at: Source link
(Accessed: January 22, 2023)
4. Adnan, I. (2015). PHA pre-qualifies firms for Greater Iqbal Park project. The Express Tribune. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 24, 2023)
5. NESPAK. (NA). Greater Iqbal Park. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
6. Sites International. (NA). Greater Iqbal Park. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
7. Traveler Trail. (N/A). The Greater Iqbal Park – A Treasure of Lahore. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
8. PML(N). (2016). 3D Renders of Greater Iqbal Park Lahore. (Twitter). Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
9. Dawn News. (2016). Greater Iqbal Park. (Youtube). Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
10. Dawn News. (2016). Grater Iqbal park project to complete on 9th Nov. (Youtube). Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 22, 2023)
11. Express Tribune. (2016). Greater Iqbal Park to open for public on August 14. Available at: Source link (Accessed: January 24, 2023)
12. Adnan, I. (2016). For Iqbal Park, Rs10m worth of trees. Available at: Source link (Accessed: February 3, 2023)
13. New Todays (2021), Mismanagement in the Project of Greater Iqbal Park, available at Source link (Accessed February 12, 2023)