Key water project faces the axe

The ambitious project to bring water from the confluence of the Neelum Jhelum river in Azad Kashmir and Murree to Rawalpindi has been terminated due to a significant increase in estimated costs.

The project, approved in 2005 during the tenure of former Punjab chief minister Chaudhary Pervaiz Elahi, was initially valued at Rs2.55 billion. However, after multiple delays and revisions, the estimated cost has skyrocketed to over Rs12 billion, prompting the authorities to abandon the project.

The project aimed to supply water to the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad by laying pipelines from the Neelum Jhelum river to the Rawal Dam filtration plant. The Asian Development Bank was also providing funding for the project. However, the change in government in 2008 led to a halt in work, and subsequent revisions in 2012 further increased the estimated cost to Rs 5 billion. Despite efforts to revive the project, the escalating costs have made it unviable.

According to sources in the District Coordination Committee Rawalpindi, the matter will now be sent to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) to seek additional funding from the federal government. If approved, the Capital Development Authority (CDA), Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA), and Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) will also contribute to the project. However, for now, the project remains terminated, leaving the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad without a vital source of water supply.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2024.