German consulate to help repair clock tower of old KMC building

The German consulate general will assist the Karachi Metropolitan Cooperation (KMC) in repairs of the 1935 historical clock tower of the old KMC building on MA Jinnah Road.

According to a statement issued by the German Consulate, the project has been undertaken within the framework of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of Pakistan-Germany bilateral relations as a project of cultural cooperation directed to the preservation of cultural heritage.

The KMC had requested the German consulate to provide support for the repair of the historical clock tower as local expertise was not in a position to ensure the required in-depth maintenance for full and reliable functioning of the tower clock.

The German consulate has asked German master clockmaker ‘Perrot Tower Clocks and Bell Ringers’, in Calw near Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, to help carry out the repair work.

Perrot is particularly renowned for its installation of the World’s largest clock in the Abraj Al Bait Towers (Royal Clock Tower Hotel) in Makkah. Perrot, according to the statement, is an outstanding example of a typical German midsize, family-owned company that is a world champion in its field. As experts in tower clocks and bell ringing technology, the company — now in operation for more than 155 years — has had the same family ownership for five consecutive generations.

Berthold Rapp, visiting master technician, stated that “in addition to the company’s current production and installation offers for tower clocks and wall dials, we apply expert workman skills and experience to the restoration of historical installations dating from the 1500s to present times.”

Commenting on the project, German Consul General Holger Ziegeler remarked that he was very happy to have obtained funds for the central timepiece of Karachi. “The visiting expert for revision and maintenance in close cooperation with KMC and its local clockmaker will, in addition to performing immediately possible repairs, present a status report of further options how to reliably operate the clock in the future,” he said.