The Karachi Coastal Comprehensive Development Zone (KCCDZ) is a multi-billion-dollar development proposal funded by the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that seeks to transform Karachi’s backwater coast through large-scale land reclamation, new maritime infrastructure, and high-end residential and commercial districts. This project investigates the shifting visions, governance arrangements, and environmental and social implications of the KCCDZ, examining how such mega-developments reshape coastal ecologies and the lives of communities along the city’s shoreline.