K-IV project faces 22-year lag, soaring costs

Senate panel questions delays, rising budget, slow progress on city's lifeline water scheme

KARACHI:

The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources has taken up the long-delayed K-IV water supply project, raising serious concerns over its 22-year timeline, escalating costs, and implementation hurdles.

Chaired by Senator Jam Saifullah Khan, the committee reviewed detailed briefings on the project's planning, design, cost structure, and pace of work. The chairman questioned the prolonged delay, noting that the project has remained under development for over two decades.

Officials attributed major setbacks to prolonged litigation, revealing that before the Water and Power Development Authority took over, the project faced 14 cases in the Sindh High Court.

The project's first phase was scheduled for completion between 2011 and 2015. Its PC-1 was approved in 2014, and the Frontier Works Organization was awarded the contract in 2016, with completion targeted for 2018 at an estimated cost of Rs25 billion.

However, costs have since surged dramatically. After being incorporated into the Karachi Transformation Plan in 2020, a revised PC-1 prepared by WAPDA was approved in January 2022 at Rs126 billion. The current estimate now stands at Rs171 billion.