Karachi\u2019s K-IV water supply project is now expected to miss its 2026 target, with officials indicating completion may slip to early 2029. The cost has climbed to around Rs224 billion as key distribution contracts remain pending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
KARACHI: Karachi\u2019s long-delayed K-IV water supply project is now increasingly likely to miss its official December 2026 target, with senior Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation officials indicating that, at the current pace, the scheme may only be completed by early 2029 if no further setbacks occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project was designed to help ease Karachi\u2019s chronic water shortages by bringing additional water from Keenjhar Lake. The city currently needs about 1.2 billion gallons of water each day but receives roughly 650 million gallons, leaving a major supply deficit. Once finished, K-IV is expected to add 250 million gallons per day, taking total daily availability to around 900 million gallons. Even then, experts estimate Karachi would still face a shortfall of between 300 and 400 million gallons a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scheme was formally revived in 2014 as a joint federal-Sindh initiative with an estimated price tag of Rs25 billion. Since then, repeated changes in design, administrative complications and shifting government priorities have slowed implementation considerably. Officials now put the project cost at about Rs224 billion and have cautioned that it could rise further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the project structure, the federal government is responsible for the transmission system, pumping stations and filtration facilities. The Sindh government, meanwhile, is tasked with land acquisition, augmentation works, power supply and irrigation-related infrastructure needed for water delivery from Keenjhar Lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Project officials and sources say augmentation work on a 2.7-kilometre stretch between Nipa Chowrangi and Hassan Square began in November 2025 but remains unfinished. Officials say this forms only the preliminary portion of the wider plan, while the more difficult phase involving the R-1, R-2 and R-3 distribution corridors has yet to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Project documents show that R-1 will run 26 kilometres, R-2 about 40 kilometres and R-3 around 28 kilometres, making the combined length of new distribution pipelines approximately 94 kilometres. These corridors are planned through some of Karachi\u2019s busiest roads and densely populated areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources involved in the project estimate that the three distribution corridors alone will require around Rs80 billion. Of that amount, about 80 per cent is expected to come through financing from international financial institutions, with the Sindh government providing the remaining 20 per cent. The rest of the scheme, including transmission works, pumping stations, filtration plants and related facilities, is estimated at roughly Rs124 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A senior KWSC official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said work on the city\u2019s main distribution network has still not started and the relevant contracts remain to be awarded. “If progress continues at the current pace, completion by 2029 is possible. However, any additional delays could push the timeline even further,” they informed The Express Tribune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some sections of the ongoing augmentation works have raised quality concerns among international financiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials say the most difficult and disruptive part of the project still lies ahead. The laying of 72-inch and 96-inch diameter pipelines will involve large-scale excavation on major roads across Karachi and is expected to affect traffic movement in several areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the key planned routes, the R-2 corridor, will run from the Northern Bypass Toll Plaza along the Super Highway and pass through Jangal Goth, Sohrab Goth, Abul Hasan Isphahani Road, Disco Bakery, Gulshan Chowrangi, Rab Medical Centre, Sir Syed University and Nipa Chowrangi. From there, it will connect to the augmentation line and continue through Hassan Square, Gharibabad, Liaquatabad, Nazimabad, Habib Bank Chowrangi and finally Gulbai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A senior Sindh government minister acknowledged that repeated design revisions and rising costs have made implementation more difficult, and said several challenging stages still remain before Karachi can receive the additional water long promised under the project.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Karachi\u2019s K-IV water supply project is now expected to miss its 2026 target, with officials indicating completion may slip to early 2029. The cost has climbed to around Rs224 billion as key distribution contracts remain pending. KARACHI: Karachi\u2019s long-delayed K-IV water supply project is now increasingly likely to miss its official December 2026 target, with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-water-shortage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7492"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7492\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7494,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7492\/revisions\/7494"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanaffairs.com.pk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}