Karachi’s K-IV water project remains under pressure from funding shortfalls, despite a December 2025 completion target. Related distribution and canal works are also facing delays, extending the city’s wait for additional water supply.
KARACHI: Karachi’s long-delayed K-IV water supply project is still struggling to stay on schedule, with funding shortages slowing work on the Rs126 billion scheme even as associated distribution and canal projects face separate delays.
The project is designed to bring 260 million gallons per day to the city through a 120-kilometre route from Keenjhar Lake to Kathore. It was launched in 2016, but construction stopped in 2019 while the project was under provincial administrative control. The federal government later transferred it to Wapda in 2021 for redesign, and construction resumed in 2022 with a target completion date of December 2025.
A senior Wapda official said progress has been held back mainly by budget constraints. The official said the federal government has so far released Rs85 billion, while last year only Rs11 billion was released against a requirement of Rs40 billion. For the current financial year, the project sought Rs40 billion but was allocated Rs10 billion.
The official said Wapda is trying to maintain momentum by assuring contractors of timely payments. Of the eight contracts awarded for the project, five are expected to be completed this year, while the remaining three are projected to finish by June next year.
Linked projects also face delays
The wider K-IV system also depends on major works being handled separately by the Sindh government, and these too are encountering obstacles.
One of them is the Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project, a Rs71 billion scheme backed by a World Bank loan to build 95 kilometres of bulk distribution lines from Kathore into the city. Though initially planned for completion in two years, its official timeline has now stretched to 2029.
Phase I of that project covers the 2.7-kilometre Hassan Square to Nipa Chowrangi section. Work began in November last year but was stopped twice by World Bank experts — first for one month over inadequate safety and environmental measures, and then for two months because of technical objections related to welding quality and protective pipeline coating. Local officials estimate this phase is about 60 per cent complete and may be finished by November or December this year.
Phase II, which involves laying 92.3 kilometres of pipelines across other parts of the city, has yet to enter the tender stage because of a shortage of experienced officers and engineers. That delay could push the broader timeline back by four to five years.
Canal rehabilitation is another critical piece
Another component tied to Karachi’s future water supply is the KB Feeder Lining Project under the Sindh Irrigation Department. The Rs40 billion project, to be financed equally by the federal and provincial governments, covers the 38-kilometre Kalri-Baghar canal from the Indus River to Keenjhar Lake.
Officials say long-term neglect, leakage and silt buildup have reduced water flow from an approved 9,700 cusecs to 6,000 cusecs. The rehabilitation includes canal cleaning and cement concrete lining and is intended to help supply an additional 260 million gallons of water per day for Karachi. Work began in December 2024, although construction windows remain limited because the canal also serves irrigation needs in Sakro district.
