A study conducted by NESPAK has revealed that the cost of the K-IV project, bulk water supply scheme for Karachi, has increased eight times to Rs. 120 billion and as per Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah the actual cost would go up to Rs.150 billion due to devaluation of rupee. A joint committee of federal and Sindh governments has been constituted to review the technical report submitted by NESPAK.
Karachi is facing various problems but the water issue is more acute and needs to be resolved at a fast pace. The project is designed to add 650 million gallons of water daily to Karachi to the existing 650 million gallons daily being supplied to the city by the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board from Keenjhar Lake and Hub Dam against the real demand of 1,240MGD. Given the significance of the project, it should have been implemented much earlier but unfortunately different issues crop up and lack of due interest on the part of departments and governments concerned the project cost has gone up alarmingly. No doubt, construction of 121 kilometre canal from Keenjhar Lake is a huge task but it should not be a problem given the importance of the project for city of the Quaid. It is also to be pointed out that there is something seriously wrong with planning and design processes of projects. K-IV is not the only project the cost of which has multiplied and design is being amended time and again during execution. This has happened in countless other cases and the country had to bear additional expenditure of trillions of rupees due to delays and modifications. This is food for thought for Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtyar as well as planning chiefs of the provinces.
