PC-1 of Ghazi Barotha project okayed

Review study of water supply scheme for twin cities enters final stages

RAWALPINDI:

The project concept (PC) 1 of the land acquisition worth Rs3.1 billion for the Ghazi Barotha water supply project has been given clearance.

The review study for the project under public-private partnership has also entered its last phase, with the foundation of the project slated to be laid next year.

Water for the twin cities is mainly supplied through tube wells and the Khanpur, Simli and Rawal Dams. However, the exponential increase in the populations of Islamabad and Rawalpindi in recent years has driven the water supply situation almost to a crisis point.

The supply shortfall of water for the twin cities is estimated to be at least 200 Million Gallons per Day (MDG) and has been a matter of increasing concern for some time now.

To develop a perennial source of potable water for the twin cities, a project regarding the conduction of water from the Indus River System at Tarbela Dam had been initiated in 2004-05 when the project cost was estimated at Rs17 billion. However, the project had been shelved since 2009.

A dispute on the share of water was resolved during a meeting of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) in 2016, when Punjab agreed to allocate some of its share of water for the twin cities. However, even that could not spur the project off the ground.

The project has finally been revived by the incumbent government, and its review study has reached the final stages.

The PC-1 worth Rs3.1 billion for land acquisition for the Ghazi Barotha project has been cleared while the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is also reviewing the progress of the project regularly.

The estimated cost of the first phase of the project is Rs80 billion, which will be completed in three years’ time.

The completion of the first phase of the Ghazi Barotha project will culminate with a collective supply of 200 MGD clean water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with each city getting an equal share.

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Construction of various underground and overhead water tanks will also take place in the first phase.

An additional 200 MGD supply of water to the twin cities will be achieved in the second phase, with the conclusion of the third phase ensuring a further 255 MGD supply for both cities.

The eventual collective water supply from the entire Ghazi Barotha project has been termed adequate to cater to the needs of the twin cities for the next 100 years.

A new water treatment plant apart from the one in the Sangjani area will also be established under the project.

Sources said that the construction of the Ghazi Barotha project has become inevitable for the twin cities as the supply from Khanpur, Simli and Rawal dams is not enough to fulfil the actual requirement.

Moreover, the continuously decreasing water table has made supplying water from underground sources an expensive exercise for the government.

Water extraction and distribution through tube wells is carried out at great expense, which the government provides to citizens at subsidised rates. This has put considerable financial strain on the CDA, Cantonment Board Rawalpindi and Chaklala as well as the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA).

WASA Managing Director Raja Shaukat Mehmood said the Ghazi Barotha project will prove to be one of the most successful projects in the long run, as it will not only ensure the provision of clean, potable water of quality standards for the citizens, but will also be a more financially viable source of water supply.

Mehmood added that the agencies and departments supplying water are facing extreme difficulties due to the depleting underground water levels and increasing power tariffs.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2021.