K-IV project remains stuck in pipeline

Karachi's much-delayed K-IV water supply project remains incomplete a decade after its 2016 launch, plagued by bureaucratic hurdles and funding shortfalls that threaten to render the 260-million-gallon-per-day initiative meaningless against rapid population growth.

According to official project details, the main route spans a massive 120 kilometers, stretching from Keenjhar Lake all the way to Kathore, with a total estimated cost of Rs126 billion. Construction originally came to a halt in 2019 under provincial administrative oversight before the federal government officially intervened and handed the project over to WAPDA in 2021 for comprehensive redesigning. Actual construction work finally resumed in 2022, with a new target completion date slated for December 2025.

A senior WAPDA official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, revealed that ongoing progress has stalled primarily due to severe funding constraints imposed by budgetary limitations. The official noted that the federal government has only released Rs85 billion so far out of the total mounting demands required to keep pace with the schedule. Last year, against a desperately needed requirement of Rs40 billion, a mere Rs11 billion was actually released, and for the current financial year, while a formal demand of Rs40 billion was submitted, the federal government allocated only Rs10 billion.

Read: Karachi's K-IV drifts towards 2029

Despite these daunting financial bottlenecks, WAPDA is actively attempting to accelerate construction work independently and has provided strict assurances to contractors regarding timely payments. Out of the eight total contracts assigned for this massive undertaking, five are currently slated for completion within this year, while the remaining three contracts are expected to wrap up smoothly by June next year.

In tandem with the primary canal works, several additional mega projects directly tied to the broader K-IV framework are being managed separately by the Sindh government, and all of them are currently experiencing significant operational friction. The Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Implementation Project (KWSSIP), built primarily through a substantial World Bank loan costing Rs71 billion, aims to establish an entirely new system of 95-kilometre bulk distribution lines running from Kathore directly into the inner city.

Originally slated for a rapid two-year turnaround, the official completion window for this specific KWSSIP initiative has already stretched to 2029. Phase I, which covers the crucial 2.7-kilometre Hassan Square to Nipa Chowrangi route and started in November last year, has faced repeated halts after World Bank experts temporarily stopped construction activities twice — first for an entire month due to insufficient safety and environmental measures, and later for two consecutive months over technical objections regarding the quality of welding and protective pipeline coating.

Local officials now estimate that Phase I is roughly 60 per cent complete and should realistically be finalised by November or December this year. Conversely, Phase II, which is designed to lay an extensive 92.3 kilometres of pipelines across various other urban zones, has not even managed to initiate its formal tender process due to a chronic shortage of experienced officers and engineers. Hence, a potential delay of four to five years looms over the broader timeline.

Also Read: K-IV project faces 22-year lag, soaring costs

Another major component of the broader initiative is the KB Feeder Lining Project, which is closely supervised by the Sindh Irrigation Department and involves the 38-kilometre Kalri-Baghar canal running from the Indus River down to Keenjhar Lake. Decades of chronic neglect and severe disrepair have caused extensive structural leakage and massive silt accumulation, drastically reducing current water delivery from an approved quota of 9,700 cusecs to a dismal 6,000 cusecs.

Costing Rs40 billion and shared equally between federal and provincial administrations, this crucial initiative involves extensive canal cleaning and specialised cement concrete lining to supply an additional 260 million gallons of water daily for Karachi. Work on the ground formally commenced in December 2024, though operational windows remain narrow and strictly managed since the canal also simultaneously supplies vital irrigation water to the agriculture sector of Sakro district.