Water woes : Completion of K-IV still a distant dream

Mega water project has been entangled in controversies over financial, design-related issues

KARACHI:

Despite Karachi’s burgeoning population and its ever-increasing water problems, phase-1 of the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Project (K-IV) has been embroiled in controversies over various financial and design-related issues. As a result, development work on the project has been stalled for the past year.

In the budget for the new 2020-2021 financial year, the Sindh government has allocated Rs500 million for the development works of the K-IV project and another Rs50 million to purchase land.

On the other hand, the technical committee set up by the Sindh government has rejected the key recommendations submitted by the National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) regarding the project, suggesting that the route of the K-IV project would not be changed and obstacles to the existing design would be addressed by engineers.

Over the past two years, many objections have been raised about the performance and design of the K-IV consultant, Osmani & Co Ltd.

The initial approved cost of PC-1 was set at Rs25.5 billion which has significantly increased but the final cost has not been announced yet. In the approved PC-1, the federal and the Sindh government will have an equal contribution.

It should be noted that the foundation stone of the K-IV project was laid in 2016 and it was to be completed in two years. However, despite the passage of four years, only 20 per cent of its work has been completed.

The K-IV project will ensure a supply of 260 million gallons of water per day (MGD) for which a 121-kilometre canal system is to be constructed from Keenjhar Lake to Karachi. Due to the non-completion of the project, Karachi has been facing the worst water crisis in history.

Karachi needs 1,200 MGD of water given its growing population, but at present, the supply is only 420 MGD.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, several engineers of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) said that experts had expressed several reservations about the design prepared by Osmani & Co. The project cost has also tripled, about which the federal government has expressed its concerns.

“The Sindh government tasked NESPAK, a third-party consultant, to review the design to resolve all these issues,” a senior KWSB engineer, who requested anonymity, said. “About six months ago, NESPAK submitted a report suggesting that K-IV’s design and route were flawed and that changes were necessary.”

According to KWSB sources, NESPAK’s suggestions have opened a Pandora’s box, putting the future of the K-IV project in jeopardy.

Osmani & Co and KWSB engineers also expressed their concerns over the report, saying that development work on the project had already begun and work had been done on various sites, making it impossible to change the route now.

The engineers said that the design flaws identified by NESPAK could be addressed without changing the route.

Subsequently, the Sindh government set up a technical committee, headed by local government secretary Roshan Ali Shaikh and comprising technocrats and engineers, to review NESPAK’s report and come up with a solution.

The technical committee then submitted a report completely rejecting the change in route, which was NESPAK’s main proposal.

The KWSB engineer added that the world has made great strides in the field of engineering, provided that every stakeholder works within their capacities with commitment and honesty, something which has been absent in case of the K-IV project.

“Osmani & Co should formulate a revised PC-1 so that costs could be properly determined, and development work could be started immediately after removing the objections raised by NESPAK,” he said. “The project is already late and the people of Karachi, who have been facing severe water crisis for many years, cannot afford any further delays.”

The Express Tribune tried contacting the local government secretary for comment several times, but he did not respond.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2020.