NESPAK report on K-IV project due in two months: director

The K-IV bulk supply water project has been given to the National Engineering services of Pakistan (NESPAK), another consultant firm for a revision, with the objective of eliminating flaws in the project.

K-IV Project Director Asad Zamin told The News on Wednesday that the design of the project was being reviewed. After receiving a report from NESPAK, he said, he would be in a position to tell when the first phase of the K-IV project would be completed.

Zamin said NESPAK would submit a report after two months, and then technical flaws and design would be reviewed. “Let the report of NESPAK come, then a detailed study will be done.”

The cost of the long-delayed Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply project, better known as K-IV, has increased from Rs25 billion to a whopping Rs75 billion due to issues relating to the design and the site as well as a hike in the exchange rate. For three times, the foundation stone-lying ceremony was held at the Sindh Chief Minister House when Syed Qaim Ali Shah was chief minister of the province.

In 2007, the K-IV project was conceived and it was supposed to be completed by 2010. However, due to political turmoil in the city the project kicked off in 2016. The K-IV project is spread over a 120-kilometre-long route. It is supposed to supply 260 million gallons of water per day from the Indus River at a cost of Rs25 billion. Earlier, it was supposed to be completed by June 2018; however, the new deadline is 2019. The project has been delayed by more than 11 years, and the cost has soared with the passage of time.