GPS Abdul Ghaffar Shelterless School — Two-Classroom Construction, Gadap, Karachi (2002–03)
Burpat, Gadap Town, Karachi — 2002
GPS Abdul Ghaffar, Burpat, Gadap — Construction of Two-Classroom Shelterless Primary School (2002–03)
There is a particular kind of government contract that does not involve a landmark building, a high-profile client, or a large programme value — and that is precisely the kind of contract that says the most about a contractor's actual capabilities and commitment. The work Naffees & Sons completed at GPS Abdul Ghaffar, Burpat, Gadap Town in 2002–03 falls into that category.
A shelterless government primary school. A remote peri-urban site in Gadap tehsil, seven miles from Gadap City by road, accessible via the Super Highway and National Highway junction. A contract value of Rs.1,88,000/-. And a requirement to deliver a properly engineered, permanent two-classroom building complete with veranda, foundation, plinth, DPC, brickwork, and full structural finish — on specification, under the scrutiny of a Works & Services Department inspection regime, in a location where logistics alone were a daily operational challenge.
Naffees & Sons delivered it. This is the documented record of that project.
The Contract: ADP, Works & Services Department, Government of Sindh
Government tender acceptance and work order for two-classroom shelterless primary school construction at GPS Abdul Ghaffar, Gadap Town — Works & Services Department, CDG Karachi, 2002
The contract was issued under the Annual Development Programme (ADP) — the formal government mechanism for capital expenditure on public infrastructure in Pakistan. ADP contracts are not awarded casually. They go through a tendering process, budget line allocation, sanction from the relevant government authority, and then formal work order issuance.
Awarding authority: Works & Services Department (Education Works), City District Government Karachi
Supervising officer: Deputy City Officer Education Works, Gadap Town
Contractor: M/S Nafees & Sons (Naffees & Sons)
Contract value: Rs.1,88,000/- (One lakh eighty-eight thousand rupees)
Period: 2002–03
Programme: ADP (Annual Development Programme), Government of Sindh
At 2025 purchasing power — using Pakistan's SBP CPI data showing approximately 6× inflation since 2002-03 — the Rs.1,88,000 contract represents approximately Rs.11–12 lakh in today's money.
This was formal government contracting. A budget line, a sanctioned project, an issued work order, a specified scope, and a completion requirement. The same framework that governed the largest government building contracts in Karachi also governed this one.
The School and Its Location
Official site location map for GPS Abdul Ghaffar, Burpat, Gadap Town — signed by Deputy City Officer Education Works, Works & Services Department, Govt. of Sindh, Karachi
The site location map — signed by the Deputy City Officer Education Works, Gadap Town — is one of the most telling documents in this project file.
GPS Abdul Ghaffar is located in Burpat, within Gadap Town (now Gadap Town Union Council, District East, Karachi). The location sits in the peri-urban fringe of Karachi, well beyond the city's developed core — accessible via the Super Highway (Karachi–Hyderabad) and National Highway (Karachi–Thatta) corridor.
Key site characteristics from the official location map:
- ~7 miles from Gadap City by road — the nearest administrative centre
- Positioned relative to the Super Highway / National Highway junction — the primary access route
- Neighbouring reference points include stone/marble quarry areas, Memon Goth, and Mango Pir — context that speaks to a genuinely remote, rural-fringe site
- No surrounding urban infrastructure to draw on for construction logistics
This is not a corner plot in a developed Karachi neighbourhood. Construction here required every material — cement, aggregate, bricks, reinforcement bar, timber, roofing material — to be sourced in the city and transported out to a site where there was no builder's merchant around the corner, no reliable water supply, and no established contractor infrastructure.
What "Shelterless" Means
The term "shelterless school" in Pakistan's government education system refers to a formally registered government school with enrolled students, teachers, and a government allocation — but no permanent building. In 2002, GPS Abdul Ghaffar was running, or attempting to run, classes without a building: under trees, in improvised shelter, or wherever parents and teachers could manage.
The government's ADP allocation to construct a permanent building was the intervention that changed that. Naffees & Sons was the contractor selected to execute it.
The Government Face Sheet
Official government face sheet: construction of two-classroom building for GPS Abdul Ghaffar, Burpat, Gadap Town — contract Rs.1,88,000, Works & Services Department (Education Works), CDG Karachi, 2002–03
The government face sheet is the formal project registration document — the record that a specific contractor, for a specific contract sum, was assigned a specific project under a specific ADP budget line. It names:
- The school: GPS Abdul Ghaffar, Burpat, Gadap Town
- The contractor: M/S Nafees & Sons
- The contract value: Rs.1,88,000/-
- The department: Works & Services (Education Works), CDG Karachi
- The programme: Annual Development Programme, Government of Sindh
This document is the formal record of the contract in the government's own administrative system. It is not a contractor's claim — it is the government's record of Naffees & Sons as the appointed contractor for this project.
The Building: What Was Constructed
Architectural and structural drawing: two-classroom shelterless primary school building — floor plan, section details, foundation and DPC specification — Works & Services Department, Government of Sindh, Karachi
The architectural and structural drawings for the GPS Abdul Ghaffar project are a government-standard specification for a two-classroom primary school building. This was not improvised — it was a designed, engineered structure built to the Works & Services Department's specification.
Building Layout
The building comprises two classrooms arranged in a line, with a covered veranda running the full width:
| Space | Dimensions | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom 1 | 20 ft × 16 ft | Standard classroom, full-height walls, windows |
| Classroom 2 | 20 ft × 16 ft | Standard classroom, full-height walls, windows |
| Front veranda | 6 ft deep × full width | Covered entry; rain protection; assembly space |
Total building footprint: approximately 46 ft × 16 ft plus the veranda overhang.
Structural Specification (from Architectural Drawing)
The structural detail drawings — Section Main Building and Section C — specify the full build sequence from ground to roof:
- Foundation: Brick/masonry foundation at appropriate depth for soil conditions
- DPC (Damp Proof Course): Specified at plinth level to prevent moisture rise
- Plinth construction: Brick masonry up to floor level
- Wall construction: Standard brick masonry above plinth
- Openings (Schedule of D/W):
- Door D1: 3'6" × 7'0" — main classroom doors
- Door D2: 2'6" × 7'0" — secondary door
- Windows: 4'0" × 4'0" — classroom natural light and ventilation
- Ventilators: 2'0" × 1'6" — high-level cross ventilation
- Roof construction: Specified to Works & Services Department standard — flat reinforced roof appropriate for the climate
- Finishing: Internal and external plaster, lime wash/paint
This is a properly specified, properly engineered building — not a temporary structure. The DPC alone — often omitted in informal construction — speaks to the standard applied.
The Cost Estimate Breakdown
Government cost estimate and bill of quantities: two-room shelterless primary school construction, GPS Abdul Ghaffar, Burpat, Gadap Town — total Rs.1,88,000, Works & Services Department, CDG Karachi, 2002–03
The cost estimate document provides the itemised breakdown of how Rs.1,88,000 was allocated across the building's construction elements. A formal government cost estimate is not a contractor's quote — it is the Works & Services Department's own calculated breakdown of materials, labour, and rates. Naffees & Sons tendered against this specification and was awarded the contract.
The estimate covers all elements of the build: earthwork, foundation, plinth, brickwork, roof, plaster, painting, doors and windows (including schedule), and external works. Every rupee is accounted for.
The Challenges: What Made This Project Demanding
1. Site Remoteness and Logistics
Seven miles from Gadap City, in an area where the primary navigation reference points are the Super Highway and quarry sites. Every material had to be sourced from Karachi proper — cement, bricks, steel, timber, roofing — and transported to a site with no established contractor infrastructure nearby.
Coordinating material deliveries to a remote site without incurring wastage (materials left unattended, weather exposure, pilferage) required planning and on-site supervision that a short-distance urban project does not demand. The team managed this by batching deliveries, maintaining daily site presence, and working within the ADP programme's reporting requirements.
2. Site Access in 2002
In 2002, the Super Highway / Gadap corridor did not have the development it has seen since. Access roads to the site were unpaved — and in the monsoon months of a Karachi summer, unpaved roads in this part of the city are not always passable by heavy vehicles. The construction programme had to account for seasonal access constraints.
3. Water Supply for Construction
Construction requires water — for mixing mortar, curing concrete, and maintaining the cast elements as they set. A remote Gadap site in 2002 had no reliable municipal water supply. Water had to be arranged separately — tanker supply or on-site storage — and managed carefully so that curing was not compromised. Concrete cured without adequate water develops strength deficiencies that may not be visible for months or years. This was not cut.
4. Works & Services Department Inspection Requirements
ADP contracts under the Works & Services Department are subject to formal stage inspection and approval before proceeding to subsequent phases. Foundation inspection. Plinth level inspection. Roof level inspection. Each requires the designated government officer — in this case, the Deputy City Officer Education Works Gadap Town — to physically attend the site, inspect the completed stage, and record approval before the next stage begins.
At a remote Gadap site, coordinating these inspections required advance notice, flexibility to accommodate the officer's schedule, and confidence that the work would pass inspection at first presentation. Naffees & Sons' track record with government contracts meant that stage inspections were not a source of anxiety — they were a procedural step that the quality of the work would satisfy.
5. Working Within a Tight Programme Value
Rs.1,88,000 in 2002-03 was not a generous programme. A two-classroom building with proper foundation, DPC, structural brickwork, roof, plaster, openings, and finishing — built to specification, in a remote location, with all materials transported from the city — required careful cost management at every stage. There was no contingency for material wastage or rework. The build had to be right first time.
This is where experience matters. Naffees & Sons had been operating in Karachi's government contracting environment since 1972. Understanding material quantities, managing wastage, buying at the right rates, and maintaining quality without overbuilding for the specification — these are skills that come from three decades of doing the same thing correctly.
What the Documents Confirm
The documentation for GPS Abdul Ghaffar represents the complete paper trail of a properly executed government contract:
| Document | What It Confirms |
|---|---|
| Government face sheet | Naffees & Sons named as ADP contractor for this project, Rs.1,88,000 |
| Work order / tender acceptance | Formal tender process completed, contract awarded, work authorised |
| Cost estimate breakdown | Bill of quantities against which Naffees & Sons tendered — full itemised scope |
| Site location map (signed by DCO) | Official government record of the site, signed by supervising officer |
| Architectural drawing | Engineered two-classroom building specification to Works & Services Dept. standard |
This is a complete government contracting record. The face sheet, the work order, the estimate, the location map, and the drawings — all issued or countersigned by government officers — constitute an audit trail that cannot be contested.
Contract Value in Today's Money
A word on the Rs.1,88,000 contract value and what it represents.
In isolation, Rs.1,88,000 sounds modest. It is not the headline number of a large government building programme. But this framing misses the point on two levels.
First: the purchasing power reality. Using SBP CPI data, the cumulative inflation between 2002-03 and 2025 is approximately 6×. Rs.1,88,000 in 2002 represents approximately Rs.11–12 lakh in today's money — a meaningful construction contract by any measure, and one covering a complete permanent building.
Second: the principle. The government of Sindh, through the Works & Services Department and CDG Karachi, selected Naffees & Sons to build a school. Not just any contractor — a contractor that cleared their tendering requirements, was assessed as capable of delivering to specification in a remote location, and was formally awarded the ADP contract. The value of the contract does not determine the significance of the selection. Naffees & Sons was on the government's approved contractor list, completed the formal tender process, and was awarded the work. That is what matters.
Why This Project Reflects Naffees & Sons' Core Strength
There is a particular discipline in building small government projects well that larger contractors often lack. The temptation with a low-value contract in a remote location is to cut corners where it is unlikely to be noticed: thinner mortar beds, reduced curing time, cheaper materials than specified.
Naffees & Sons did not operate that way in 2002, and we do not operate that way now.
The students who attended GPS Abdul Ghaffar after this building was completed — children from Burpat and the surrounding Gadap area who had been studying without shelter — received a properly built classroom. DPC-protected from rising moisture. Structurally sound. With proper windows and ventilation designed to specification. That building was still standing when we look back at this project because it was built correctly.
Government institutional construction in Karachi is not about any single contract. It is about the accumulated record of having done the work properly, having the documentation to prove it, and being brought back for the next contract because the first one was delivered without problems. From GPS Abdul Ghaffar in 2002 to SM Science College in 2004, to P&T Colony Model School through to 2012, and beyond — the thread runs consistently. Each project is a brick in a wall that now spans more than five decades.
Considering Construction Work in Karachi's Peri-Urban Areas?
Building in Gadap, Malir, Bin Qasim, or other peri-urban areas of Karachi presents specific challenges — site access, utility availability, material logistics, and regulatory frameworks that differ from the developed city. Naffees & Sons has operated in these conditions since 1972 and understands what it takes to deliver construction work correctly in locations that other contractors would find difficult.
If you are responsible for a government school, community facility, or any construction project in Karachi — urban or peri-urban — and you need a contractor with a documented track record of government-approved delivery, we would be glad to discuss your project.
Contact us for a site assessment and honest cost estimate →
Naffees & Sons | B-142, Block A, North Nazimabad, Karachi | Call: 0310-3488563