KARACHI -
South Asia Sector Manager of World Bank’s Urban Development, Water Supply and Sanitation Development Department, Ming Zhang, has said the World Bank is interested to make investment in water supply and sewerage system of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB).
The Bank wants to support the development projects of water supply and sewerage in Pakistan’s biggest city of Karachi so that the citizens can get clean drinking water through a modern system/ facilities. This will also help to stop the large scale wastage of water due to old and damaged supply lines, the World Bank official said.
Ming Zhang said this during a meeting with Managing Director KWSB, Misbahuddin Fareed here. His team included World Bank’s Urban Specialist Huang Chyl-Yun, Senior Urban and DMR Specialist Shahnaz Arshad, Senior Urban Specialist Fatima Zehra Shah and Consultant Shoaib Arshad, said a KWSB statement here on Sunday.
KWSB’s Deputy Managing Director (Planning) Mashkoor- ul- Hasnain, Project Manager, K-IV Saleem Siddiqui, Project Director, S-III Imran Hashmi and other senior officers of KWSB were also present.
On this occasion, the Managing Director of KWSB said that from population point of view Karachi is the seventh biggest city in the world. From the year 2006, there is no progress in the water supply and sewerage projects for the city having more than twenty million population.
In 2006 JICA in its study had pointed out the shortage of water by 400 million gallon daily in the city. Greater Karachi Water Supply project K-IV and Greater Karachi Sewerage project S-III could not be executed for non-availability of funds, he said.
He said lakes are the source of water supply to the city. The water is being supplied to the citizen after chlorination and filtration process. Whereas, industrial waste and sewerage flows un-treated into the sea which has posed serious threat to the eco system and marine life.
KWSB Managing Director requested the World Bank to invest in the above mega projects.