CM orders fast execution of Rs71.8bn K-IV Augmentation Project

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, while presiding over a meeting to review progress in the K-IV Augmentation Project, expressed concern over the water line that recently burst at the University of Karachi and instructed the water board to repair it and restore the water supply to the affected areas of the city immediately.

“This is unacceptable that every day one or the other water supply line bursts; ultimately the citizens have to suffer; therefore, this issue must be resolved once and for all,” he said.

The meeting held at the CM House on Friday was attended by Sindh Energy Minister Nasir Shah, Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Principal Secretary to CM Agha Wasif, Planning and Development Board Chairman Najam Shah, Local Government Secretary Khalid Hyder Shah and Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) chief Ahmad Ali Siddiqui.

At the outset of the meeting, the chief minister expressed his dissatisfaction and directed the KWSC to conduct a comprehensive survey of all old water supply lines in the city and develop a five-year plan for their repair/replacement. "The water corporation needs to strengthen its system," he emphasised.

Reviewing progress in the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme (K-IV Augmentation Works, KWSSIP-II), the CM emphasised the strategic importance of the project in addressing Karachi’s chronic water shortage and urged all relevant agencies to remove administrative bottlenecks immediately.

He directed the local government department to expedite the tendering process and secure all necessary no-objection certificates (NOCs) to ensure that physical work on the Rs 71.8 billion K-IV Augmentation Project began within the next three months.

The project is being implemented by the local government department with financial support from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and World Bank. The project’s design was finalised and reviewed by an Austrian firm in line with the Planning Commission’s directives. Bid documents were prepared and are being updated by the supervision consultant.

The process for hiring a construction supervision consultant (CSC) has already begun. The technical and financial proposals’ technical evaluation report (TER) was approved by the World Bank. The financial opening took place last month, and the contract evaluation report (CER) was shared with the World Bank. Following no objection letter (NOL) clearance, the letter of award was issued on May 6. To facilitate the project, 18 different agencies were approached for NOCs. So far, NOCs have been secured from seven agencies.