CM meets Chinese delegation to discuss city’s water woes

A waste water treatment plant, the K-IV project, a desalination plant were discussed

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said that if Karachi moves [in terms of the economy], the whole country moves, therefore, Karachi has to develop faster.

Addressing an eight-member delegation of a Chinese state-owned company, Energy China, which called on him at CM House on Friday, Shah said that he was making all efforts to make Karachi livable again and to restore peace and prosperity by utilising local resources and the expertise of donor agencies as well as their resources.

The delegation, led by Energy China President Luo Bixiong, met with the CM to discuss ways to work with the Sindh government in Karachi's water sector.

K-IV project

The meeting discussed the K-IV project which has been temporarily halted to make changes in its design. "The national engineering firm, Nespac, is working on its design and as soon as it is finalised work would begin," said Shah.

Water woes: Karachi goes thirsty as its water goes to waste

The CM pointed out that Karachi is a city of 17 million people and its water requirement has been estimated at 1,200 million gallons per day (MGD) but it has been receiving only 500MGD. "We are working on different options to increase the bulk water supply to the city so that its [Karachi's] domestic and industrial requirements can be met," said Shah.

He informed the Chinese delegation that the Sindh government was working with the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) on phase-I of the K-IV project. The Chinese firm expressed interest to work in phase-II and III of the project. The delegation proposed that the K-IV project could be included in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects if its cost was too high.

Possible proposals

The Hub River source conveyance system was said to have its faults and flaws which made its recorded line losses higher than what was deemed acceptable. The Chinese company expressed interest in improving the system from Hub source to Karachi.

At the CM's request, the delegation said they would work out the estimated cost and other details of installing a 100MGD desalination plant in Karachi. Besides, the meeting discussed the possibilities of treatment of Malir River wastewater so it could be used for industrial purposes. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2019.