Clean drinking water will remain out of reach for many areas of Karachi this year, as the mega Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme (K-IV) is likely to miss its completion deadline once again.
Originally scheduled for completion by December 2026, the cost of the project has increased from an initial estimate of Rs126 billion to Rs 171 billion, according to media reports.
The project is being jointly funded by the federal and Sindh governments and is expected to supply drinking water to nearly 60 per cent of Karachi’s residents.
The Project Director of the K-4 project said that financial difficulties remain the biggest hurdle. He added that 66 percent of the work has been completed and expressed hope that the project could be completed by December this year if the required funds are released on time.
It is worth mentioning here that the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme, widely known as the K-IV project, is a major infrastructure initiative designed to supply up to 260 million gallons per day (MGD) of treated surface water from Keenjhar Lake in Sindh to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest metropolitan city.
The project involves a 121-kilometre pipeline network, along with intake works, pumping stations, filtration plants, and storage reservoirs.
Phase I of the project was approved in 2014 with an initial estimated cost of Rs 25.5 billion, which was later revised to Rs 126bn due to cost escalations. The scheme aims to address Karachi’s chronic water shortage, where demand exceeds supply by several hundred MGD, forcing residents to rely heavily on groundwater and irregular water distribution. As of mid-2024, approximately 63 percent of the physical work has been completed, with seven out of eight contract packages actively underway.
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