Urban rehabilitation: Wasa hopes to get Japanese funding

Funding to replace disposal pumps approved.

LAHORE: The Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) is hopeful that a grant from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) of Rs24 billion for the rehabilitation of the city’s sewerage and water system will come through, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Japanese engineers have been working in the city for the past few months on a project which includes the rehabilitation of the main drainage system and installing new lines for sewerage and drinking water especially in south Lahore. Most of the sewerage lines in central Lahore have been placed prior to partition.

The survey on the project is in the last stages of completion. However, Wasa had sent the JICA a summary for approving the estimated cost of Rs24 billion. A Wasa official said that although the grant had not come through the sanitation agency had high hopes for its approval. During the last monsoon season, he said, Japanese engineers got first hand knowledge of the areas troubled with water and monitored the situation. He said that even though the project would take a number of years to be completed, the city’s sanitation problems would finally come to an end.

JICA, however, had approved a grant of Rs930.4 million for upgrading disposal pumps installed at different disposal stations close to a month ago. The Punjab government had added Rs6.40 million to the project.

Wasa deputy director (Operations and Maintenance), Muhammad Tanvir, said that Wasa operates as many as 10 disposal stations around the city. Most pumps at each disposal station were of low capacity and took time to dispose of water and needed to be replaced. He said four pumps at the Shadbagh disposal station and six at the Gulshan Ravi station would be replaced with pumps of 40 cusecs capacity.

He said that the Multan Road pumps would be replaced with four of 56 cusecs while two new pumps of 56 cusecs would be installed at the Khokhar Road disposal station. As most of the load is now on the Khokhar Road and Shadbagh areas, according to Tanvir, two automatic trace rack systems will be installed at those disposal stations.

Tanvir said the work will start after the monsoon and will be completed in 2012. He said Japanese engineers would be hired through international tenders. A team of Wasa officials will work closely with the foreign engineers.

Tanvir added that the Punjab government is keen on the projects as they would make Lahore safe from flooding especially during monsoons.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2011.