Ghazi Barotha project inches forward

The government has released tenders for land acquisition in the first phase of Ghazi Barotha water supply project.

In the first phase, land acquisition would be acquired to lay pipeline from Tarbela Dam to Sangjani water filtration plant in Islamabad. A sum of Rs2.40 billion has been earmarked for the purpose.

The project aimed at overcoming water shortage in Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be completed by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in three phases. Each of twin cities would be supplied water equal to 100 million gallon daily (MGD) from Ghazi Barotha project.

Ghazi Barotha Project Committee member Shiekh Rashid Shafique told The Express Tribune on contact that they wanted to get rid of tube-well system and the project would fulfil water requirement for next 100 years. He added that CDA and WASA would also save millions of rupees spent in power bills of tube-wells.

Shafique said that their focus was to get water supply from river water instead of underground sources.

Further work on the long-delayed Ghazi-Barotha water supply project for the parched twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi would begin when the Punjab government would release the necessary funds, Shafique said.

“Punjab government has allocated Rs3.2 billion to start the project that will supply 200 million gallons per day (MGD) water to the twin cities,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2020.