WAPDA gives K-IV contract to joint venture

Rs1.14b project awarded through international competitive bidding

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) has awarded a contract worth Rs1.14 billion for unified consultancy services for the Greater Karachi Water Supply Scheme (K-IV) to a joint venture through international competitive bidding.

The joint venture includes one Austrian and two Pakistani firms. The unified consultancy services agreement consists of design review, detailed engineering design for conveyance system, allied electro-mechanical works, power, coordination for distribution system, preparation of bidding documents and PC-I.

The agreement was signed by the K-IV project management and a representative of the joint venture.

Talking about the significance of the project, State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib said that K-IV was a flagship project of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s package for Karachi. The project will go a long way in meeting water requirements of the cosmopolitan city.

The minister expressed confidence over Wapda’s ability to complete the project in accordance with the timelines.

Speaking on the occasion, Wapda Chairman Muzammil Hussain said that Wapda had devised a well-thought-out plan to complete the K-IV project on time, for which support and cooperation of all the stakeholders including the government of Sindh was important.

The chairman said that Wapda stood committed to completing the K-IV project by October 2023.

Speaking at the ceremony, Austrian Ambassador Nicolaus Keller said that he was pleased that one of the Austrian firms was going to be associated with K-IV, which was an important project for supplying water to Karachiites.

The K-IV project envisages supply of 650 million gallons of drinking water per day to Karachi.

Earlier, the project was being constructed by the Sindh government, however, the federal government, under an arrangement with the provincial government, took up implementation of the scheme as part of the prime minister’s package for Karachi.

It directed Wapda to take over the responsibility of constructing the project.

Project Director K Amir Mughal said that 15 companies expressed interest and Wapda gave the project design consultancy contract to ILF Austria and two Pakistani companies. The cost of the project design consultancy is Rs1.14 billion.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 9^th, 2021.

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