33 water projects worth Rs424 billion proposed for inclusion in PSDP 2025-26

The Ministry of Water Resources has proposed 33 new water sector projects for inclusion in the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) for the fiscal year 2025-26, with an estimated total cost of Rs424.128 billion. 

According to a news report, the Ministry has requested an allocation of Rs42.432 billion for the next fiscal year to fund these initiatives.

In a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Water Resources, chaired by Senator Shahadat Awan, Secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, Syed Ali Murtaza, provided details of the proposed PSDP projects. Among the proposals, four projects are from WAPDA, with a combined cost of Rs33.0155 billion. WAPDA has requested Rs1.584 billion in funding for FY 2025-26. 

Punjab has seven proposed projects worth Rs39.2 billion, with Rs10.8 billion needed for the next fiscal year.

For Sindh, three projects are proposed, totaling Rs257.783 billion, with Rs15.805 billion sought for the next fiscal year. 

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is expected to benefit from 19 projects, costing Rs94.130 billion, with Rs14.242 billion requested for FY 2025-26. 

Notably, no projects from Balochistan have been included in the PSDP for 2025-26.

Secretary Murtaza clarified that none of these proposed projects had been included in the PSDP for 2025-26 as their PC-1s are still incomplete.

The total allocation for water and hydropower projects in 2024-25 was Rs343.812 billion, with an overall cost of Rs4.488 trillion and a throw-forward amount of Rs2.795 trillion.

The committee also discussed the Greater Karachi Bulk Water Supply Scheme (K-IV), Phase 1, which has a budget of Rs126.404 billion and is scheduled for completion in 2026. 

However, the project faces delays due to the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KWSB) not awarding the tender for water distribution lines, which could take up to three years. 

Key challenges include the large funding requirement, delays in releasing the Sindh government’s cost share, issues with providing power supply, and a court case over Right of Way (RoW) clearance. Security concerns for Chinese nationals working on the project were also highlighted.

WAPDA Chairman Lt. General Sajjad Ghani (retired) informed the committee that the project cost is expected to rise by 18% to Rs150 billion.

Committee members expressed hope that K-IV, which had an 11-year schedule for completion, would now be completed by 2027.