In a major development towards the start of actual work on the proposed Ghazi Bharotha water supply scheme aimed at provision of clean water to the twin cities for the next 100 years.
The Council of Common Interest (CCI) has given its approval for the first phase of the project as per which the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad will be supplied 200 million gallons per day (MGD) water via 60km-long 80 inch wide pipelines running from Ghazi-Barotha Hydrpower Project at Tarbela Dam near Attock to Sangjani in Islamabad.
Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood told The Express Tribune that services of a new consultant have been acquired for reassessment of the project
He said that under the project, 655 million gallons per day (MGD) of clean water will be supplied to the twin cities in three phases from Tarbela Dam. The cost of first phase of the project will be more than Rs90 billion. Due to the high cost of the project, the option of private-public partnership mode is also being considered.
The federal government has already approved the Project Concept-1 (PC-1) for the phase-I of the project, which includes budgetary estimates for land acquisition, water treatment and filtration plant, construction of supply lines of 80 inches and construction of water tanks.
The Wasa MD said the new consultant will present a complete report on the construction of the project on private-public partnership. He further said that the biggest problem in the twin cities at present is water provided the growing population. A comprehensive plan for the supply of water is needed. The proposed project has been delayed by several previous governments, but now the current government is making practical progress on the project, which is a welcoming news for Rawalpindi and Islamabad as the need for water is increasing. There is no alternative to water and we must ensure that we have the arrangement as per the demand and supply formula.
MD Wasa said the Ghazi-Barotha water supply project is essentially spread over three phases. In the first phase, the twin cities will be provided with 200 million gallons of water per day (MGD) by laying a 60-kilometre-long, 80 inch-wide pipeline from the Tarbela Dam at Ghazi-Barotha to a water treatment plant at Sangjiani in Islamabad.
In the second phase, an additional 200 MGD will be provided while in the third phase, 255 MGD will be received.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 3rd, 2020.
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