KARACHI: The revised cost of Karachi’s long-delayed K-IV water supply project has been approved at Rs172 billion, paving the way for the release of funds and renewed efforts to complete the scheme, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) said on Saturday.
The development comes as Karachi continues to grapple with a chronic water shortage, leaving large parts of the city dependent on privately supplied water tankers.
The tanker-based supply system has long been a source of concern for residents, with allegations of influence and exploitation surrounding access to water in several parts of the metropolis.
In a statement, MQM-P said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had fulfilled the party’s long-standing demand for ensuring an adequate water supply to Karachi and thanked the prime minister and Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal for their role in the approval.
The party welcomed the approval of the revised K-IV cost by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), saying it would clear the way for funding and help accelerate work on a project that has remained stalled or delayed for years.
“After this approval, the path for the provision of funds for the project will be paved,” the party said.
MQM-P said Karachi’s citizens had been facing a severe water crisis for years and expressed hope that completion of K-IV would provide relief to millions of residents and reduce their dependence on tanker supplies.
The party credited MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui and Parliamentary Secretary for Water Resources Rana Ansar with playing a key role in pushing the issue at relevant forums.
MQM-P leadership, it said, had consistently advocated for Karachi’s right to an adequate and reliable water supply.
It is appropriate to mention here that the K-IV project has faced repeated delays and major cost revisions since its inception.
A Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources was told in May that the project’s estimated cost had risen to about Rs171 billion, while officials cited prolonged delays and other implementation issues.
The project is designed to augment Karachi’s water supply, with Phase I aimed at providing 260 million gallons per day (MGD) to the city. The broader scheme has been planned to eventually deliver 650 MGD.
For Karachi, where unreliable piped supplies have made tanker water a necessity for many households, the latest approval has raised fresh hopes that K-IV may finally move towards completion and provide a more dependable alternative to the city’s long-running tanker-dependent water system.
