Two decades on, Karachi still waiting for K-IV water supply

Funding constraints, poor administrative coordination has delayed the completion of the project

KARACHI:

Karachi has been trapped in a worsening water crisis for nearly twenty years yet the much-awaited K-IV mega water supply project remains incomplete due to delays, funding constraints, and a lack of coordination between the federal and Sindh governments.

The project, which promises an additional 260 million gallons of water per day for Karachi, has four major components. Three are currently under construction, while work on the fourth has not begun. Although 2027 has been set as the latest deadline for water to reach Karachi's households, internal assessments suggest that without urgency from both governments, completion could drift to 2030.

Information obtained by The Express Tribune revealed that the combined cost of K-IV's four components was Rs253 billion. The main component involved transporting 260 million gallons daily from Keenjhar Lake to Kathore. Its original PC-1 estimated a cost of Rs126 billion, but rising construction material prices have pushed the revised estimate to Rs170 billion. The federal government has yet to approve the revised PC-1. If approved, the overall cost of the four components will rise from Rs253 billion to Rs297 billion.

Karachi's demand for water stands at 1,200 million gallons daily, yet the city receives only 650 million gallons from the River Indus and Hub Dam. Despite the shortfall, no additional quota from the Indus has been arranged, even as the city's demand continues to surge. The existing supply is consumed by tanker operations, underground extraction, leakages, and industrial needs before reaching residential neighbourhoods, leaving citizens with an insufficient share.

The main K-IV project began in 2016 under the Sindh government and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC). Initially budgeted at Rs25 billion and meant to be completed in two years with equal federal-provincial funding, it soon became controversial due to design errors and mismanagement. Costs escalated sharply, and construction stopped in 2018 after only 20 per cent progress.

In 2021, the federal government transferred the project to the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), which redesigned it entirely. Construction resumed in 2022, targeting completion in December 2025. "About 65 per cent of the work is complete, but progress has slowed because the federal government released far less than the Rs40 billion required for the current fiscal year. To date, Rs85 billion has been released for the project," said a WAPDA official, on the condition of anonymity.

WAPDA General Manager South and Project Director Amir Mughal claimed that the funding issue had now been resolved, with federal allocations increased from Rs3.2 billion to Rs8.25 billion, while the Sindh government was expected to release its pending Rs8.5 billion soon. "Due to rising costs, the revised PC-1 stands at Rs170 billion and is awaiting federal approval. The project is now expected to be completed by December 2026," said Mughal.

However, the Sindh government oversees three other K-IV projects. The Rs71-billion K-IV Augmentation Plan, delayed for two years due to administrative and World Bank approvals, began in November and will install a 95-kilometre bulk distribution system; its first 2.7-kilometre phase from NIPA to Hasan Square costing Rs3 billion is set to finish this month.

Apart from this, the Rs40-billion KB Feeder Lining Project is rehabilitating the 38-kilometre canal from the Indus to Keenjhar Lake, where silt and damage reduce flow to 6000 cusecs instead of 9700; 30 per cent of work is complete, with June 2027 targeted for completion. The fourth component, a Rs16-billion power supply project by the Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company, will install a 132kV line from Jhimpir to the K-IV pumping complex, but work has not started due to withheld funds, threatening the delivery of 260 million gallons per day to Karachi. In this regard, repeated attempts made by the correspondent to contact the Sindh Energy Secretary for clarification remained unsuccessful.