District admin seeks Rs11.5b for sewerage overhaul

The divisional administration has decided to send a proposal for a mega sewerage project costing Rs11.5 billion for Faisalabad, the third-largest city in Pakistan, to the Punjab government for final approval.

This decision was announced during a meeting chaired by Faisalabad Commissioner Silwat Saeed.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Nayyir Sheikh, Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Managing Director Aamir Aziz and other department heads. WASA MD highlighted that Faisalabad, also known as the Manchester of Pakistan, has been facing long-standing issues with sewerage and drainage.

The city's current drainage infrastructure, established in 1978 when WASA was founded, has become increasingly inadequate as the city has expanded to rural boundaries.

This outdated system has resulted in numerous complaints regarding sewerage disposal, underscoring the urgent need for a new project that includes modern sewer lines to meet the requirements of Faisalabad as a growing metropolitan city.

Deputy Commissioner Abdullah Nayyir Sheikh noted that during her recent visit to Faisalabad, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif listened sympathetically to the district administration's briefing on the city's chronic sewerage issues.

She pledged to provide the funding for the installation of new sewer lines, which would significantly benefit city's population of approximately 15 million people.