The federal government has allocated Rs8 billion to Karachi’s “water requirement project” by redirecting funds from two underperforming infrastructure projects in Karachi and Hyderabad.
Chief Minister Shah actively pursued additional financial support to bridge the funding gap for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) project titled ‘Water requirement for K-IV project, improvement of Kalri Baghar Feeder and Keenjhar Lake 2024-25’.
CM Shah proposed reallocating Rs10 billion this financial year by transferring Rs6 billion from the ‘Karachi Urban Infrastructure Development Package’ and Rs2 billion from the ‘Hyderabad Urban Infrastructure Development Package’, with the rest to follow in 2025-2026 for timely project completion.
In response, the federal government consented to shift Rs6 billion from the Karachi project and Rs2 billion from the Hyderabad project to bolster Karachi’s water initiative.
CM Shah informed the Prime Minister that the project involves lining 38 miles of the ‘Upper Kalri Baghar Feeder’ to save around 510 cusecs of water, enhancing Karachi’s drinking water through the K-IV Project. The Rs39.942 billion project is funded equally by the Sindh and federal governments, though this year, the federal contribution was only Rs1 billion.
The National Economic Council (Ecnec) Executive Committee approved the project on July 19, 2022, and authorized it in July 2023. However, despite a budget allocation of Rs3 billion for 2023-24, the project received only Rs1 billion, with just Rs150 million released in the first quarter of the current fiscal year as of October 3, 2024.
CM Shah highlighted that the Kalri Baghar Feeder’s crucial role in Karachi’s irrigation and water supply is vital to the K-IV project, which is managed by Wapda. The project is 50% complete and aims to be 70% complete by June 2025.
CM Shah emphasized the need for 50% of the project funds for canal work during the December to January closure. He stated that the remaining funds would come in FY25. To ensure timely project progression, the Sindh government will provide an extra Rs7,000 million, totalling Rs10,000 million, for this fiscal year.
