Home Civic Issues Karachiites will have to wait another decade for improved water & sewerage facilities

Karachiites will have to wait another decade for improved water & sewerage facilities

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Karachiites will have to wait another decade for improved water & sewerage facilities
Photo Courtesy: KW&SB

Sindh Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput chairs Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project Steering Committee meeting to review the progress.

World Bank agrees to launch $300 million project for rehabilitation of water supply and sewerage system in rural areas of Sindh.

Sindh Courier

Karachi

Karachiites will have to wait another decade for improved water & sewerage facilities, as the projects, launched by Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) will be completed by 2032 in four phases.

This transpired in a meeting of Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (KWSSIP) Steering Committee, chaired by Chief Secretary Sindh Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput at Sindh Secretariat on Wednesday.

While briefing the meeting, Project Director Syed Salahuddin Ahmed said that all KWSSIP series of projects will be completed in 4 phases by 2032. “Priority is being given to replacing the Sewerage and Water lines in Karachi,” he said adding that the K-IV augmentation works would bring the water supply into city center.

He told that new water filtration plants will be added and essential rehabilitation will also be done.

Project Director further said that three Katchi Aabadis of Karachi are also being developed as model with a revenue stream coming through NGOs and local CBOs. “In this way water and sewerage system will be provided in these slums with recovery of user charges.”

Chief Secretary Dr. Muhammad Sohail Rajput said that Sindh government was working for the rehabilitation of Karachi’s water and sanitation infrastructure. “The water supply and sewerage system improvement projects are being implemented in Karachi at a cost of 1.6 billion US Dollars in collaboration with World Bank/ AIIB,” he told.

It was decided in the meeting that 250 system and feedback meters would be installed to gauge the Water Distribution in Karachi.

Chief Secretary directed KWSB to conduct energy audit of all water pumping stations and see how Operation and Maintenance can be outsourced by engaging Public-Private Partnership interventions. He desired to have one meeting every month to keep a close track on the project issues and progress.

Rajput said that every drop of water supplied to the city would be filtered to ensure clean water supply to the citizens.

The meeting was attended by Senior Member Board of Revenue Baqaullah Unar, Secretary Finance Sajid Jamal Abro, Secretary Local Government Syed Najam Shah, and other relevant officers.

Water & Sewerage Projects for Rural Areas  

A delegation of World Bank also held meeting with Sindh Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput and discussing the KWSSIP agreed to work on water and sewerage projects in rural areas with 300 million US$.

A three-member delegation led by Andress Rhode discussed the progress of Water Supply and Sewerage Improvement Projects in detail. The CS asked the World Bank to fund the STP-IV as this is government’s highest priority to clean the sea discharges.

The representatives of World Bank and Chief Secretary agreed to launch 300 million USD project for rehabilitation of water supply and sewerage system in rural areas of Sindh. The CS also reiterated the resolve to achieve critical deliverables of reforms in KW&SB before start of SOP-2 of KWSSIP.

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