KARACHI : Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Federal Minister for Water Resources Mian Muhammad Moeen Wattoo held a high-level meeting to review the status of critical water infrastructure projects, including the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme (K-IV) Phase-I, improving Karachi’s water share from the Hub Canal, the Right Bank Outfall Drain (RBOD), and the distribution of water shares as per the water accord.
The meeting, held at CM House, was attended by Sindh Minister for Planning & Development Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Minister for Local Government Saeed Ghani, Minister for Irrigation Jam Khan Shoro, Secretary to CM Abdul Rahim Shaikh, Chairman WAPDA Naveed Asghar Chaudhry, DG Mian Riaz, and Project Director K-IV Project WAPDA Aamir Mughal.
Karachi’s Water Crisis: The chief minister told the visiting Federal Minister that currently the city receives 650 MGD (Million Gallons per Day) against a demand of 1,300 MGD, resulting in a 650 MGD shortfall. To address this, the Sindh government conceived the K-IV project, designed to ultimately supply 650 MGD of water to Karachi from Keenjhar Lake. Phase I of the project, being implemented by WAPDA, aimed at delivering 260 MGD. Federal Minister Mian Moeen Wattoo told the CM that he has visited the K-IV project along with P&D Minister Nasir Shah on Wednesday, and [project] current physical progress stands at 63 per cent, with completion targeted by 2026.
ECNEC directives: It was pointed out that the federal government formally granted Administrative Approval (AA) for the execution of K-IV Phase-I under the Modified Revised PC-I, which was approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on January 31, 2022. The project is approved for Rs. 126.404 billion.
The main conditions set by ECNEC include the provision of 260 MGD from Keenjhar Lake by the Sindh government, the provincial government’s contribution of 50 per cent share at Rs. 12.77 billion, timely clearance of liabilities and land acquisition, coordination of power supply, distribution network, and O&M systems and regular steering committee meetings to monitor implementation. The chief minister said that his government is fulfilling the condition set by the federal government.
Federal-Level Issues: The chief minister told the federal minister that despite administrative approval, the project faces major challenges that require urgent intervention by the federal government.
Murad Shah said that in the news FY 2025–26, only Rs. 3.209 billion have been allocated against the actual requirement of Rs. 39.964 billion. This funding gap threatens delays, inflation-driven cost escalation, and potential contractor claims. At this, the Federal Minister Mian Moeen assured the chief minister that he would brief Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif on the progress of the project to get more funds.
The federal minister told the chief minister that while most Right-of-Way (ROW) issues have been resolved by the Sindh government; however, two bottlenecks remain — 22 acres of land in Thatta required for the construction of infrastructure works for the pumping complex, and a pending court case related to the pipeline alignment — both of which are yet to be resolved. The chief minister assured the federal minister that the land would be handed over to the project for the pumping station at the earliest.
CM Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah reaffirmed Sindh’s commitment, noting that out of the provincial government’s share of Rs8.5 billion, he has approved the release of the fourth quarter of Rs. 1.27 billion for the project.
Hub Dam: The CM informed the federal Minister that his government has repaired the old Hub Channel and constructed a new 100 MGD canal to enhance water access to Karachi.
Murad Shah requested Federal Water Minister Mian Moeen to approve increasing the water supply from Hub Dam from 100 to 200 MGD. Both the CM and the federal minister agreed to conduct a technical survey to determine water availability in the Dam so that the CCI could be informed to make a decision accordingly.
Inter-provincial water distribution: The chief minister asked the Federal Minister to facilitate direct meetings between irrigation officials of Sindh and Punjab to resolve water distribution challenges amicably.
Mr Shah mentioned that during Prime Minister Khaqan Abbasi’s tenure, the CCI had tasked the Attorney General to study the water accord and recommend water distribution accordingly. The Attorney General submitted his report, which was again referred to the then Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The CM stated that water distribution must follow the 1991 water accord. The federal minister agreed to meet with representatives of both provinces—Sindh and Punjab—separately to resolve the issue.
RBOD: The meeting also reviewed progress on the RBOD project, where a technical committee has been formed to address outstanding issues and submit a report within three days.