The National Assembly Standing Committee on Water Resources on Wednesday reviewed progress on the K-IV water supply project for Karachi, with officials assuring lawmakers that funding for the long-delayed scheme is now available. During the meeting, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Ameen Ul Haque said that Rs106 billion had been allocated for the project, while WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Muhammad Saeed acknowledged that securing adequate financing had been a major challenge in previous years.
The WAPDA chairman told the committee that the project received its required Rs15 billion in 2021, but funding shortfalls emerged in subsequent years. He said Rs60 billion was requested in 2022 but only Rs20 billion was released, while in 2023 the project sought Rs63 billion but received only Rs21 billion. However, the Chief Executive Officer of the K-IV Project maintained that there was currently no funding issue affecting the scheme.
During the meeting, committee member Syed Wasim Hussain called for the Sindh Chief Secretary to be summoned, saying discussions on the project should take place in the presence of the province’s top bureaucrat. "I am not making a political speech; this is an issue concerning the entire city of Karachi,” he told the committee.
Responding to questions about the project’s water source, WAPDA Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Muhammad Saeed said the K-IV project would draw water from Keenjhar Lake, which is fed by the Indus River, reaffirming that the planned supply system remains unchanged.
