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ISLAMABAD, Mar 19 (APP):The Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources, chaired by Senator Shahadat Awan, convened a meeting on Wednesday to discuss ongoing and upcoming water resource projects in Pakistan.
The meeting was attended by Senators Mohammad Humayun Mohmand, Poonjo Bheel, Khalil Tahir, Saadia Abbasi and officials of Ministry of Water Resources, WAPDA and FFC, said a press release.
During the briefing, ministry official’s informed the committee that a total of 59 Hydropower projects are currently under way and 33 new are in the process of initiation in the coming year, with the approved cost of Rs. 2,914,463.373. Out of total 92 Hydropower projects, 24 are to be initiated by WAPDA, 22 are ongoing in Balochistan, 6 ongoing and 3 new in Sindh, 5 ongoing and 19 new in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1 ongoing and 7 new in Punjab and rest of the 5 ongoing projects are in the head of Miscellaneous. Upon the concern of Chairman Committee, it was revealed that the timely completion of these projects depends solely on the timely availability of funds.
Senator Shahadat Awan, the Chairman Committee, emphasized to complete the ongoing projects on priority basis before initiating the new ones to relieve the end user.
Secretary ministry of water resources during the meeting also briefed about the status of small dams to be built in the province of Sindh. The committee urged the authorities to accelerate project execution to counter growing water scarcity and improve its management.
In a replay to the concern raised by Senator Dr. Mohammad Humayun Mohmand regarding the audit and monitoring of the ongoing projects, it was told that the Ministry has dedicated department for monitoring the projects on frequent basis.
During the discussion about the scarcity of water in Karachi and ongoing projects, the Ministry officials briefed the committee about the K-IV water project, which aims to supply the 260MGD water to Karachi. The main challenge faced in the execution of this project is the water distribution network in the city, said the Secretary Water Resources.
He further revealed that they are going to build three pumping station having capacity of supplying 130 MGD to the city. The work on K-IV was started in September, 2011and is expected to be completed in June, 2026, which also depends on the availability of funds.
The Chairman Committee directed to bring the concerned federal and provincial authorities on table to review the K-IV project and come up with the concrete and speedy solution to facilitate the most populous city of Pakistan.