[ Dean Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture ]

First National One-day Seminar on Geotechnical Engineering Organized by the Department of Civil Engineering
held on Sept. 15, 2012

The seminar on Geotechnical Engineering was organized to discuss the cutting edge research and to learn about the challenges and opportunities in geotechnical engineering. It was aimed at promoting ground improvement concepts and applications, need for specialization in Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and to address Geo-environmental issues.

1. To familiarize participants with the contribution of geotechnical engineers in order to encourage economic and social progress without jeopardizing the equilibrium of the planet.

2. To provide a platform to disseminate the most recent research and field advances to the geotechnical community around the country and highlight the significance of geotechnical engineering.

The audience of this seminar comprised professional engineers, professors, project managers and design consultants serving in the field of geotechnical engineering. Also the graduating students looking for their career in the field of geotechnical engineering came to attend this seminar.
The audience also included design practitioners who wished to gain a better understanding of the geotechnical aspects, graduate engineers and technical staff who needed a comprehensive introduction to geotechnical engineering, and experienced Geotechnical engineers and technical personnel who participated to ‘refresh’ their knowledge and to interact with the design counterparts.
Following were the Speakers:

Professor & Chairman of Civil Engineering Department, NED University of Engineering & Technology. He has over 22 years of experience in the field of civil engineering. In the field of Geotechnical Engineering he has exclusive expertise in soils and foundations problems and methods of treatment.

Senior research fellow, Department of Civil Engineering, NED University of Engineering & Technology. He has over 45 years of experience in the field of Geotechnical Engineering with research in Soil Foundation-interaction.

Professor and Chairman Department of Earthquake Engineering, NED University of Engineering & Technology. He has over 15 years of experience in the field of structural engineering. His current research interest is in behaviour of FRP reinforced concrete structures and Earthquake Engineering.

Professor, Department of Urban & Infrastructure Engineering, NED University of Engineering & Technology. He has over 15 years of experience in the field of Transportation Engineering with exclusive research in the pavement materials and design.

Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, NED University of Engineering & Technology. He has over 10 years of experience in the field of Geotechnical Engineering with exclusive research in mechanical behaviour of cemented soils, ground improvement techniques and Micromechanics of reinforced soils.

Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, NED University of Engineering & Technology. He has over 10 years of experience in the field of structural Engineering with exclusive research in behaviour of reinforced materials at high rate of loading.

Associate Professor, Department of Earthquake Engineering, NED University of Engineering & Technology. He has over 10 years of experience in the field of Earthquake Engineering with particular interest in Seismic Hazard Assessment.

Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering, NED University of Engineering & Technology. She is a potential researcher in the field of Geotechnical Engineering.

3-day training workshop on Computer Aided Project Management with Microsoft Project, Organized from July 15-17, 2012

The Department of Civil Engineering organized a 3-day course on Computer Aided Project Management with Microsoft Project ver. 2010, from July 15 to 17, 2012. To accommodate the working professionals, this workshop was scheduled for full day on Sunday, July 15 and during evening hours on July 16 and 17.
This workshop was designed for engineers, consultants, contractors, site managers, facility managers, program managers, project managers, resource managers, contract administrators, project controls managers, planners/schedulers, cost analysts, cost estimators, financial managers and scheduling software users to provide hands-on training for Microsoft Project based solution. The course aimed at providing engineers and allied professionals an in-depth knowledge of advanced techniques of Project Management using Microsoft Project 2010.
This 3-day course was an exercise-driven, professional, practice focused workshop and was meant to enable the participants to easily and readily apply it to their work. Upon completion of this workshop, the participants were aimed to be able to:

This workshop was approved by PEC for 1.0 CPD credit to all PEC registered participants.

First International Workshop on Sustaining Accident Free Environment in the Architecture, Engineering & Construction Industry of Pakistan
July 14, 2012

The Department of Civil Engineering in collaboration with East Carolina University, USA, organized the First International Workshop on Sustaining Accident Free Environment in The Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) Industry of Pakistan (SAFE-I) on Saturday, July 14, 2012, at NED University.

This workshop was the first of a series of workshops aimed at Sustaining Accident Free Environment (SAFE) in the AEC Industry of Pakistan, which has an inherited key goal of continual movement towards achieving zero accidents. The key theme of this workshop was to develop awareness about construction safety in the local construction industry and to ponder upon means to improve the safety scenario in the country in relation to what the educational institutions, consultants, contractors, owners and regulatory agencies are doing. The participants were provided with a strong knowledge base regarding integrated safety operations in all phases of construction life cycle and the audience included public and private sector professionals related to the AEC industry.

Esteemed faculty (local and foreign) and distinguished industry professionals including Dr. Jimmie Hinze (USA), Dr. Sherif Mohamed (Australia), Dr. Syed M. Ahmed (USA), Prof. Sarosh H. Lodi (NED), Prof. Rizwan U. Farooqui (NED), Engr. Dr. Ikram H. Siddiqi (MCL, Pakistan), Engr. Sohail Bashir (Saita, Pakistan), Engr. Maqsood Ahmed (Saita, Pakistan), Mr. Muhammad A. Khan (AKUH, Pakistan), Mr. Atif H. Siddiqi (PSO, Pakistan), and Mr. Syed D. Ali (PPL, Pakistan) delivered keynote addresses at the workshop and contributed to make this workshop successful.

The workshop was approved by PEC for 1.0 CPD credit to all PEC registered participants

SAFE - I Brochure

ACI Pakistan Chapter and CESNED in collaboration with Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) conducted a 1 day workshop on “Building Code Requirements for Structural Concrete - ACI 318-11”. The workshop was conducted on June 09th, 2012 at NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi.

The objective was to introduce the ACI 318-11 Code to the professionals and to help professional civil engineers to become familiar with the ACI 318-11 Building Code. Over thirty five (35) professional engineers participated in the event. These included design consultants, materials engineers, manufacturers, academics, representatives from government bodies, regulators and building officials. The group photograph is shown in Figure 1.

At the end of each lecture, significant amount of time was allocated for discussion, questions and answers. In the closing session, certificates for participation and membership to ACI Paksitan Chapter were awarded to the participants which earned them two (2) Professional Development Hours (PDH) from Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC). At the conclusion of the workshop and evaluation form was circulated. The workshop was well received by the participants

First International Workshop on Building Information Modeling (BIM) in Construction Industry of Pakistan June 2, 2012

The Department of Civil Engineering, in collaboration with AUBURN University, organized the First International workshop on Building Information Modeling. This workshop was meant to help identify and agree to a consensus the need to explore and standardize the BIM and its working, through sustained collective efforts by the industry & academia in coordination with the local construction regulating bodies.

The workshop titled “Building Information Modeling in construction Industry of Pakistan: Need, Concept & Way Forward towards Sustainability” was held on June 2, 2012 at NED University of Engineering & Technology and featured presentations by foreign expert Dr. Salman Azhar and other local keynote BIM professionals. Dr. Salman Azhar is a foreign expert having vast experience on the subject. He has state-of-the-art knowledge and experience with BIM and its implementation in USA. The local industry experts including Prof. Sarosh H. Lodi, Prof. Rizwan Ul Haque Farooqui, Ar. Ahed Ejaz also shared their knowledge & experience on the subject.

This workshop aimed to put forward the idea of Building Information Modeling and its way of working in the construction industry of Pakistan making AEC industry aware of the benefits of BIM, its utilization & the integration of various stakeholders of a construction project leading to a sustainable construction.

The workshop was approved by the PEC for the award of 1.0 CPD credits to all PEC registered participants.

BIM Workshop Brochure

Seminar on ‘Renewable Energy Production Using Sustainable Anaerobic Digestion Process’, Organized by the Department of Environmental Engineering on August 30, 2012

A Seminar on ‘Renewable Energy Production Using Sustainable Anaerobic Digestion Process’, was organized by the Department of Environmental Engineering on August 30, 2012.

Proceedings of the Seminar

Opening of the seminar was done with recitation of Holy Quran by Dr. Atif Mustafa after which Mr. Abdul Ghaffar Memon, Lecturer, Environmental Engineering department, started the proceedings.

A brief presentation was delivered regarding ‘Renewable Energy Production Using Sustainable Anaerobic Digestion Process’. Dr. Zuhaib Siddiqui, Principal Investigator of this research work, presented the research findings derived from the under discussion research project.

A continuous single-stage mesophilic anaerobic digestion was investigated using co-digested municipal solid waste, cow dung and sewage sludge. The initial estimates for an optimum blend of wastes and pH were established using a biochemical methane potential (BMP) batch testing protocol. This demonstrated an optimum C:N of 15 and pH value of 7.0±0.2 for methane production. The biomethane batch study identified the optimised mix for sewage sludge had a carbon concentration of 33% (w/w) and nitrogen concentration of 56.5 %. The continuous reactor study revealed a maximum methane content of 75% (v/v), methane yield of 437 mL/g VSremoved, VS destruction of 72.3% and rate of methane production of 0.85 L/(L.d). These were achieved at an OLR of 3.0 g VS/L/d and a HRT of 10 days.

After presentation of the research findings, the audience asked queries regarding the project and its applications which were replied by the presenter.

“Every citizen shall have the right to have access to information in all matters of public importance subject to regulation and reasonable restrictions imposed by law.”

Article 19- A of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

To nurture a civilized and truly democratic society, the right of access to information is not just a fundamental right of every citizen but also an essential constituent. It empowers the citizens to know the actual facts and thus objectively evaluate or ascertain the performance of their government. The right to information is essential for the process of strengthening good governance, accountability and transparency.

To promote the article 19-A of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for transparent governance and citizen empowerment, a Capacity Building Workshop was organized by the Shehri- Citizens for a Better Environment at NED University of Engineering and Technology (Department of Architecture) on Friday, 12th October, 2012.

Shehri-CBE is registered as a non-political organization under the Societies Registration Act that works for the protection and conservation of the built and natural environment. It functions in an open, transparent and democratic manner.

Shehri-CBE has taken up a project to inform people, professionals, government agencies about what Freedom of Information is, what are its benefits to the citizens, how it can be used, how and what to do under FOI, what are its key features and how it can assist in capacity building of different departments. Under this project, the following workshop was organized.

The workshop started with the welcome address by Farhan Anwer, Shehri-CBE that highlighted the event, its objectives, and introduction of the speaker and expectations from the workshop.

The workshop was carried forward with the presentation on FOI by the expert Naeem Sadiq. He developed a good understanding on FOI legislation in Pakistan and enlightened the participants with key concepts related to FOI. The speaker did a captivating job and impressed everyone with his presentation. He also provided key information about the current status of the FOI legislation and the procedure for accessing information from provincial and local department.

The presentation was followed by the Question/Answer session that enabled the participants to identify issues in effective implementation of FOI Ordinance and to explore the procedure for obtaining information from any federal/public body under FOI 2002. FOI tool kits were also distributed amongst the participants.

The closing ceremony was highlighted by the evaluation of workshop and the vote of thanks followed by refreshments.

“Windows into Tomorrow” is a lecture series which was initiated at the NED University of Engineering and Technology, Department of Architecture and Planning, through Prof. Dr. Noman Ahmed and his team.

This lecture series aims for the exploration of appropriate architecture especially in the context of Karachi and Pakistan. Its main objective is to connect the profession with academics and also with other inter-disciplinary fields to study the holistic approach of the built environment.

As Architecture continues to evolve into a discipline that encompasses many fields, therefore it is imperative to educate students and young professionals with the broader understanding of our built environment

Faran Lodhi (Founder of Fluk Factory Ecotecture) was invited as a guest speaker on the 27th session of Windows Into tomorrow which was held in Ned City Campus on 5th of October 2012 titled Design for a Sustainable future and Ecotecture architecture.

Faran Lodhi, a modernist and minimalist at hear, has been exploring ways in which to present his creativity merging his work with new ideas and concepts. The session started with a dynamic digital presentation a video which explain the philosophy behind Ecotecture which is an innovative architecture and design practice specialising in low energy, low environmental impact buildings and associated lifestyles.

He further explained the concepts of universal and inclusive design which is a relationship between design and emotions, experiences rather than products. He explained on using concepts which aimed for “intelligent energy solution”, he quoted many examples of his work where he explains his concept of 4c which is to collect, create curate and communicate while solving the design problems.

An open discussion took place after the presentation in which both the professionals and students raised many debates which revolved around the new concept and philosophy of Ecotecture and also use of digital architecture which allowed architects and designers to create highly experiential designs in the physical landscape that was not easily imagined a decade ago

Professor Noman Ahmed concluded the discussion by highlighting effectiveness of the concept of sustainable design and Ecotecture in achieving environmental sustainable design, he also talked about the importance of new technological inventions and that these parameters did not restrict the imagination and ideas of the students rather it challenge them to produce innovative ideas and techniques
The event ended with a vote of thanks to the speaker.

It provides following consultancy services,

1. Digital services include:
• Drawings and presentation
• Photomontages
• Illustrations
• Interiors

2. Training and Workshops
• Revit (Building Information Modelling)
• Sketch Up
• Eco Tect

Contact Us:

World Habitat Day as proclaimed by the United Nations, is to be celebrated on the first Monday of October every year. In this respect, various themes have been choosen that have been collectively discussed over a common platform worldwide .This year also a very important key issue was selected to be debated around the world, that is Changing Cities, Building Opportunities.

The World Habitat Day was celebrated on 1st October 2012 at a local hotel in Karachi. The event was organized by NED University of Engineering and Technology, Department of Architecture and Planning, through Prof. Dr. Noman Ahmed and his team including Lecturer Sarah Ather and Rahat Arsalan, in collaboration with HANDS (Health and Nutrition Development Society) and UN-Habitat.

Dr.Gaffar Billoo (Founder and Chairman HANDS) and Mr. Javed Jabbar (Founder President of Baanhn Beli) were invited as keynote speakers at the event. Following members were selected as panelist from the various government sectors, including Murtaza Noonari (youth representative UN Habitat Pakistan), Engineer Iqbal Ahmend Qureshi (Rotary Humanitarian Trust Pakistan)and Inayat ullah Qureshi (Govt of Sindh).

Keynote speakers individually shared their views about the topic. Dr. Abdul Ghaffar Billu in his speech drew the audience’s attention towards the prevailing urban issues in Karachi and the various other developing cities in Asia. He reflected over the past situation of the city and compared it with the present conditions. He also stated that inequality and injustice are the products of rapid urbanization.

Javed Jabbar spoke about dynamism in Karachi city and questioned the audience for the desensitism of the citizens.He also disscued the social innovation and enterpreneurship, and motivated the youth for the active participation in the overall development of the nation.

The panel discussion revolved around the issues of youth and the recommendation for an urban youth development policy. It was discussed that the destructive development should be transformed into constructive development through active collaboration of the public and private sector. Civic issues were also brought under consideration including the issue of solid waste management and land theft in Karachi city. The life styles and cultures of the migrants from the rural areas should also be considered while planning solutions for low income housing.

Dr.Noman Ahmed concluded the discussion by saying that the formulation of effective land use policies can help in solving many of the urban issues. He stressed on the fact that effective law enforcement is the key for development of the city. He shared his views on Dr.Akhter Hameed khan’s thoughts that we could sensitize the state through demonstration. Demonstration can become large scale practise for relevant state interventions.

The event ended with a vote of thanks given by a representative of HANDS, acknowledging the participants, organizers, panelists and speakers.

The 7th seminar on Urban and Regional Planning was held on 31st March, 2012 at NED University of Engineering and Technology, Main Campus. This event was organised by the Department of Architecture and Planning, and its theme was “Urbanisation and Secondary Cities: Forms; Trends; Potentials; Challenges”.

The seminar began with recitation of holy Quran followed by welcoming note to the delegates by Professor Dr. Noman Ahmed, Chairman Department of Architecture and Planning. He gave a briefing on the background of the past seminars and the intellectual output generated from each event.

Dr. Syed Mansoor Ali of Practical Action, United Kingdom, was the keynote speaker. He summarised his 27 years of experience in 18 developing countries on projects aimed to improve lives of low income people which is now the majority of global population. Working as development practitioner in Africa and Asia, he shared his most recent learning experience in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso in West Africa. He questioned the relevance of professional education, nature of Government institutions and certain professional and academic norms to benefit the majority of global population. He identified how publications could lead to some real change by narrating the examples from Africa and Asia, where low income groups demonstrated significant potential. He stressed upon institutional change that may converse the way we think about learning, reflections and research to deliver sustainable changes in the lives of poor people both in large and medium sized cities.

His Excellency; Dr. Nadeem-ul-Haque, Deputy Chairman, Planning commission, Government of Pakistan was the chief guest on the occasion. In his speech he complimented the university management for taking up this vital topic for deliberation.

Engr. Abul Kalam, Vice Chancellor NED University of Engineering & Technology, conferred the presiding remarks. He appreciated the Department of Architecture and Planning for conducting these seminars in a regular manner.

The first technical session was chaired by Prof. Dr. S.F.A Rafeeqi, PVC-II, NED University. The papers presented in this session included both local and international authors which included Federico Pedrin, Associated Architect, JDS Architects Copenhagen and Brussels; Professor Dr. Melih Ersoy, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey; Suneela Ahmed and Masooma Mohib Shakir, Assistant Professors, Department of Architecture and Planning, NED University of Engineering & Technology, Karachi. The panel discussion comprised expert comments from Dr. Syed Mansoor Ali, Practical Action, UK; Dr. Nausheen Hafeeza Anwar, Urban Planner, IBA Karachi; Professor Dr. Anila Naeem, NED University, Karachi and Ms. Tahira Sadia Fazli, UN-Habitat, Karachi.

The second technical session was chaired by Dr. Sarosh Lodi, Dean (CEA), NED University. Those who presented their papers in this session included Dr. Nausheen H Anwar, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, Department of Social Sciences, Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi; Dr. G Shabbir Cheema, Director, Asia Pacific Governance and Democracy Initiative (AGDI) and Senior Fellow, East West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii; Christophe Pollack, Architect-Planner, Visiting Professor at the Department of Architecture and Planning of the “The University College for Sciences and Arts, Brussels (WENK)” and at the Free University of Brussels (VUB); Muhammad Aslam Khan, PhD HEC Foreign Professor and Shahid Mansoor Khan University of Peshawar. Penalists for this session comprised, Mr. Arif Hasan, Architect-Planner, Karachi; Dr. Nasir Javed, Urban Unit, Punjab; Mr. Islammudin Siddiqui, Former Director Master Plan, KDA, Karachi; Architect M. Fazal Noor, UN Habitat Islamabad and Ms. Fariha Amjad Ubaid Associate Professor, Department of Architecture and Planning NED University, Karachi. Ms. Fariha Amjad Ubaid also summed up the seminar session.

The Department of Urban & Infrastructure Engineering believes in the integration of Education-Research & Practice to order equip its students the kind of training they require to compete and excel in these ever challenging times. Complying with its obligation to provide the best value addition activities for its intake students, the Department of Urban & Infrastructure Engineering has planned Knowledge-Share Lecture Series for the afore mentioned strategic objective.
As a visionary initiative it has been put into practice, which would provide a platform where faculty members of the department who are pursuing their PhD studies abroad and the students together with the faculty at NED University of Engineering & Technology would interact together for the mutual benefit of each other.
In relation to the above, the first of its series of lectures was conducted by Mrs. Sana Muqeem, organized by the Department of Urban & Infrastructure Engineering on 20 July, 2012 at Video Conferencing Hall. The eager participants included students and Faculty of Civil Engineering & Architecture.
At the presentation, the scholar elaborated her research scope, research methodology, state of the art analysis procedures and tools, and major findings of her study. Towards the end question and answer session was conceded in which active participation from the audience was observed.
Moving in the same direction, the second lecture was delivered by Mr. Uneb Gazder. At the presentation the scholar shared his recent experiences during his studies abroad relevant to the field of Urban Engineering.
With the unprecedented success of these lectures it is planned that such Knowledge-Share Lectures be a regular event in the academic activities of the department.

The Urban Engineering Day was held on Saturday, 7th April, 2012 by the Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering in the Auditorium of NED University of Engineering and Technology.

Urban Engineering is relatively a new field of engineering. This discipline has been introduced in NED University under the banner Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering in 2001. The importance of Urban Engineering has not been conceived properly in the local environment. Therefore Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering came up with the idea of arranging an event in order to bridge the gap between related industries and students of this discipline. The event was graced by Vice Chancellor NED University, Engr Abul Kalam, Pro-Vice Chancellor II, Prof Dr S. F. A. Rafeeqi and Dean Civil Engineering and Architecture Faculty, Prof Sarosh H. Lodi.

Prof Dr Mir Shabbar Ali concluded his welcome address by inviting the Honorary Guest Prof Dr S. F. A. Rafeeqi, PVC-II NEDUET, to share his views about Urban Department. Prof Dr S. F. A. Rafeeqi, having made a vital contribution in the establishment of Urban Department, appreciated the efforts of faculty of Urban

After the speech by PVC-II, three students of First Year Urban were called upon the stage to read their essays. The first year students exuberantly described their reasoning for selecting Urban Department. The eloquence and depth of thought shown by these young students was exemplary. Three groups from the second year students were then called upon the stage for giving a presentation about the models they had prepared. These students described the different aspects they had tried to touch while portraying futuristic infrastructure in their beloved city, Karachi.

After the presentations of the undergraduate students, the invited Alumni of Urban Department rose to share their experiences with the audience. Their stories were heart-warming and inspiring for the students of all years. They explained the job market for the Urban Engineers in the local as well as global scenario. They were unanimous over the fact that Urban Engineers produced by this Department have got a wide horizon of careers to select from.
In the final session, winners were selected from each year of undergraduate. The results were announced by Dr Muhammad Adnan, Associate Professor Department of Urban Engineering, who was Judge for the event. The following students were declared as winners:

The Dean Civil Engineering and Architecture Faculty, Prof Sarosh H. Lodi gave the closing remarks. He was hopeful that the future of Pakistan is remarkable in the hands of such competent and capable engineers. Prof Sarosh H. Lodi regarded Urban Engineers as people who can effectively improve the built environment of the urban areas.

The event provided a platform to the students to meet the people from the industry. Commendable were the efforts of the faculty involved who worked tirelessly, taking out time from their hectic schedules, in making this event a success. The event clearly depicted the hard work and dedication put in by the students to bring out their creative and technical side. The students volunteered and participated with full zest and enthusiasm.

LAUNCHING CEREMONY OF Research on traffic congestion, held
at Department of Urban And Infrastructure Engineering,
funded by TOYOTA
held on 2^nd April, 2012

Introduction

Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, has launched a new research project initiated by joint efforts of NED University and Indus Motor Company. This project deals with the serious issues of traffic congestion along with the quantification of its economic cost and is financed by Indus Motor Company (IMC).

This study, first of its kind in the country, will not only be beneficial for industries to ascertain the role of traffic congestion in their budgeting and cost borne by them due to traffic delays but will also act as an appraisal for various congestion research strategies.

For the project, the study area was decided to be the nineteen kilometre long strip of National Highway starting from the intersection at Jinnah Terminal up to the junction at Pakistan Steel Mill. The presence of many multinational offices, Pakistan Steel, link towards Port Qasim and the observed congestion on daily basis truly justifies it to be the study area for a research project dealing with the traffic congestion and its cost.

Launching Ceremony
The launching ceremony for the project was held on 2nd April, 2012, at Conference Hall, NED University of Engineering and Technology. The event was attended by representatives of the Sindh government, Karachi administration, officials of Sindh police and traffic department, individuals working in transport planning and people representing the international media.

(L- R) Prof. Sarosh H. Lodi, Dean CEA, NED University of Engineering and Technology; Mr Niaz Ahmed Siddiki, former Sindh police chief; Engr. Abul Kalam, Vice Chancellor NED University of Engineering and Technology; Mr Parvez Ghais, CEO Indus Motor Company and Prof. Dr Mir Shabbar Ali, Chairman Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology

While briefing about the project, Prof. Dr. Mir Shabbar Ali, Chairman Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering, stated that the 20-month research project would not only ascertain the level of traffic congestion, but would also quantify its cost. It would be conducted in three phases and may involve multiple techniques for data collection, data processing and analysis, congestion estimation and its valuation. For instance, he quoted that developed countries have quantified cost of congestion and was reported as around $40bn in year 2010.

“The study area is a section of the National Highway from Jinnah terminal to Steel Mill junction, serving as the main route to various industries located in the city and also linking the province to upcountry. The 19-km-long road is among the top fatal and congested roads in the city,” Dr Ali pointed out.

The level of congestion, he said, would be ascertained though key traffic parameters and the cost of congestion would be quantified as a general estimate incorporating all travellers of the elected road in the first phase of the project. Later, an assessment of the extra cost on a particular business/industry due to traffic congestion would be carried out. The third phase would focus on the impact of traffic congestion on port activities and the cost being incurred by the port authority on account of this problem, he explained.

About the effects of the traffic congestion, he said that it caused a huge loss in productive time, increase in fuel consumption, environmental pollutants and wear and tear of automobile engines, besides making commuters more vulnerable to accidents.

“It has a strong negative impact on people’s psychological state, too, which may affect productivity at work and personal relationships. It could also result in slow and inefficient emergency response and delivery of services,” he said. Referring to a previous study, he said that commuters lost about 3,887 days per year on major arteries of the city on account of travel delays caused by traffic congestion.

IMC Chief Executive Mr. Parvez Ghias in his address said that their company had also cooperated in a road safety project that involved collection and analysis of traffic injuries data received from five major public and private sector hospitals, by a team of experts from NED University and staff working under Prof. Dr. Rasheed Jooma.

“Under the project, a number of interventions have been introduced with the help of stakeholders. The data shows that these interventions have helped reduce road injuries and fatalities in Karachi. The project’s success is also evident from the fact that it has been taken over by the World Health Organisation,” he said.

Mr Ghias emphasised that there was a need for an efficient public mass transit system and said that the system was a solution to traffic congestion and had been successfully running the world over and that the country also needed to adopt it.

Mr Niaz Ahmed Siddiki, former Sindh police chief

Engr. Abul Kalam, Vice Chancellor NED University of Engineering and Technology

Giving his remarks, Mr. Niaz Ahmed Siddiki, former Sindh police chief and project coordinator, said that the study would benefit people at large as it would provide data on the monetary losses being caused by traffic congestion. Frequent traffic blockages, he said, were also causing an increase in criminal activities as it made commuters very vulnerable on the street. Vice Chancellor NED University of Engineering and technology, Engr. Abul Kalam, who was also the chief guest of the occasion, appreciated the people involved in the project and said that it was an example how the industry could collaborate with the academia and bring about a positive change in society.

Later a question-answer session was held which was followed by the signing of the MOU between Prof. Dr Mir Shabbar Ali, Chairman Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering and Mr Parvez Ghias, CEO Indus Motor Company ltd.

Panel answering the questions during question- answer session

MOU signing between Prof. Dr. Mir Shabbar Ali, Chairman Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering and
Mr Parvez Ghias, CEO Indus Motor Company Ltd.

After the signing of the MOU, instrumented vehicle was displayed which would be used to capture traffic data and traffic cell was inaugurated by Prof. Dr. S. F. A. Rafeeqi, where in all the necessary work related to this project would be conducted.

Methodology

The project is designed for duration of 20 months with a further division into three phases for covering multifaceted aspects all related to the valuation of traffic congestion.

PHASE 1

To ascertain the level of traffic congestion through key traffic parameters of a selected road in Karachi.
To quantify the cost of congestion as a general estimate incorporating all travellers of a selected road and extrapolate it further to give estimates about entire city.

Various up-to-date and state of the art technologies have been purchased by the Department of Urban and Infrastructure Engineering for observing accuracy during data collection stage. It includes an instrumented vehicle equipped with traffic surveillance cameras for volume counts, a Vehicle Position Tracking System (VPTS) for delay measurement and tracking bottleneck points and a Laser Speed Gun for instantaneous speed.

Key Deliverables

The project deliverables have been specifically pinpointed as

Traffic Parameters Behavior

Different parameters of traffic flow such as volume, speed, headways, density will be investigated for various modes that are prevailing in that road section.
Investigation of trends of traffic flow parameters with respect to specific times of a day, different week days and different days of the month.

Identification of Congestion Points and Estimation of Delays

Peak volume timings on the specific points will be identified and congestion level over different periods will be examined.
Overall delays and specific delays (i.e. intersection delays, bottleneck delays etc) in the traffic flow will be estimated due to the congestion on the road by analyzing various parameters that have been investigated.

Quantification of Congestion Cost

Value of time will be estimated for different road users.
The investigated delays and value of time will be used to determine the monetary cost of the congestion to the road users under different scenarios.
Vehicle operating cost will be determined that has been effected due to the congestion.

SECOND WORKSHOP ON HYDROCARBON PHASE BEHAVIOUR AND PVT ANALYSIS, HELD ON SEPT. 14-16, 2012

After the successful conduct of First workshop on Hydrocarbon Phase Behaviour & PVT Analysis in July 2011, the Department of Petroleum Engineering organized a second three day workshop from September 14 to 16, 2012 on same topic with more emphasis on modelling of laboratory generated data using software.

Mr. Asfandiar Ansari from RasGas, Qatar and Mr. Muhammad Noman Khan from Pakistan Petroleum Ltd were the resource persons for the technical session and the faculty members of the department were the facilitators for the practical demonstration and analysis.

Engr Abul Kalam, the Vice Chancellor, NED University of Engineering & Technology very kindly consented to be the chief guest of the opening session while Prof Sarosh H. Lodi, Dean, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture graced the closing ceremony of the workshop as the chief guest.

The workshop provided an exclusive opportunity to the participants to work on state-of-the art PVT system “Fluid Eval” and to model the laboratory generated data using software. Participants from major national and multi-national petroleum E&P and services companies attended the workshop. This event brought academia and industry together and acted as a source of further strengthening of already existing linkage between the Petroleum Companies and the Department of Petroleum Engineering.