Sindh to spend Rs6bn to get Karachi 65mgd more water

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has decided to start a water supply project to provide the people of Karachi with an additional 65 million gallons a day (mgd) by reviving the KB (Kalri Baghar) Feeder’s lower canal through the Haleji Lake at a cost of Rs6 billion.

The rehabilitation of the Haleji Lake, and the construction of the RCC (reinforced cement concrete) lined canal and conduit from the Haleji Lake to the Gharo Pumping Station will be undertaken.

The province’s chief executive took these decisions in a meeting that he chaired at the CM House on Saturday to review the progress of the projects that have been planned to provide additional water to the metropolitan city.

Local Government Minister Nasir Shah said that there has been no progress on the Haleji Lake rehabilitation project since 2000. He added that the project’s scope included the construction of the RCC lined canal and conduit from the Haleji Lake to the Gharo Pumping Station, and the remodelling of the reservoir branch.

He informed the meeting that a new 65mgd pumping house will be equipped with mechanical and electrical pumping machines at Gharo, a 72-inch-diameter mild steel pipe will be laid from Gharo to the high point, and a transmission line will be laid to convey the 65mgd water from the high point to the Pipri filer plant.

The chief executive said the 65mgd water will be provided to the water-deficient areas of the metropolitan city, and this will benefit a population of some 1.2 million. He also reviewed the upgrade of the Dhabeji Pumping Station at a cost of Rs1.23 billion. The LG minister briefed the meeting on the rehabilitation of the existing electrical and mechanical machines of the second, third and fourth phases. He stressed the need of rehabilitating the K-II and K-III pumping houses because they have completed their lives.

The chief executive was told that 65 per cent of the work has been completed, following which the CM directed the LG minister to get the work swiftly completed so that its benefits can be passed on to the people of the city.

The chief minister also directed the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) to propose a project for the rehabilitation of the canal coming from Hub to provide 100mgd water to District West.

He said the canal is completely defective, so half of the total water goes to waste. He added that with its rehabilitation 50mgd water going to waste will be made available for the people of District West.

K-IV status

The CM was told that the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Nespak) has finalised its report as the design consultant of the project, and most of the points of disagreement have been settled, so now a Chinese firm has brought a new proposal to build the project.

The province’s chief executive directed the LG minister to submit Nespak’s final report in the board meeting of the KWSB to discuss it in detail.

The CM said the K-IV project will be started very soon, but he directed P&D Chairman Muhammad Waseem to keep all the stakeholders, including the Frontier Works Organisation and the federal government, in the loop as regards its decision making.

The meeting was also attended by CM’s adviser Barrister Murtaza Wahab, CM’s Principal Secretary Sajid Jamal Abro, LG Secretary Roshan Shaikh, KWSB Managing Director Asadullah Khan and K-IV Project Director Asad Zamin.