Funding constraints and poor administrative coordination delayed project completion
People fill water bottles at a pumping station in Baldia town due to the severe water shortage in the town. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
Karachi has been trapped in a worsening water crisis for almost two decades, but the much-awaited K-IV mega water project remains unfinished 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 main components. Three are currently under construction, while work on the fourth has not yet started. Although 2027 has been set as the deadline for water to reach households in Karachi, internal assessments suggest that, without urgency from both governments, completion could drift until 2030.
Information obtained by The Express PK Press Club revealed that the combined cost of the four components of the K-IV stood at Rs253 billion. The main component was to transport 260 million gallons daily from Keenjhar Lake to Katore. Its initial PC-1 was estimated at 126 billion rupees, but rising prices of construction materials pushed the revised estimate to 170 billion rupees. The federal government has not yet approved the revised PC-1. If approved, the overall cost of the four components will increase from Rs253 billion to Rs297 billion.
Karachi’s water demand stands at 1,200 million gallons per day, while the city receives only 650 million gallons from the Indus River and Hub Dam. Despite this deficit, no additional quota has been set for Indus, even though the city’s demand continues to increase. The existing supply is consumed by tanker operations, underground mining, leaks and industrial needs before reaching residential neighborhoods, leaving citizens with an insufficient share.
The main K-IV project was started in 2016 under the leadership of the Sindh government and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC). Initially budgeted at 25 billion rupees and supposed to be completed in two years with equal federal-provincial funding, the project quickly became controversial due to design errors and mismanagement. Costs rose sharply and construction stopped in 2018 after only 20% progress.
In 2021, the federal government transferred the project to the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), which completely redesigned it. Construction resumed in 2022, with a target of completion by December 2025. “About 65% of the work is complete, but progress has slowed because the federal government has released far less than the required Rs40 billion for the current fiscal year. So far, Rs 85 billion has been released for the project,” said a WAPDA official, requesting anonymity.
WAPDA South Managing Director and Project Director Amir Mughal claimed that the funding issue has now been resolved with federal allocations increased from Rs3.2 billion to Rs8.25 billion, while the Sindh government is expected to release its pending Rs8.5 billion soon. “Due to rising costs, the revised PC-1 amounts to Rs 170 billion and is awaiting federal approval. The project is now expected to be completed by December 2026,” Mughal said.
However, the Sindh government is overseeing three other K-IV projects. The 71 billion rupees K-IV augmentation plan, delayed by two years due to administrative and World Bank approvals, began in November and will install a 95-kilometer bulk distribution system; its first phase of 2.7 kilometers from NIPA to Hasan Square, costing Rs 3 billion, is expected to be completed this month.
Apart from this, the Rs40-billion KB Feeder Lining Project rehabilitates the 38-kilometre canal from Indus to Keenjhar Lake, where silt and damage reduce the flow to 6,000 cusecs from 9,700; 30% of the work is complete and completion is scheduled for June 2027. The fourth component, a Rs16 billion power supply project by the Sindh Transmission and Dispatch Company, will install a 132 kV 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 by the correspondent to contact the Sindh Energy Secretary for clarification remained unsuccessful.
