Daily Times

KARACHI: The Sindh government is all set to send revised PC-I on leftover segments of Greater Karachi Sewerage plan S-III to Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) Planning Division for final approval.

The S-III, approved in 2007 has already been delayed by nine years and its cost escalation has reached to Rs 36.44 billion from Rs 8 billion.

Imtiaz Magsi, Project Director S-III informed that federal and Sindh governments are sharing the 50-50 cost of the project.

Earlier this project in its original shape has been estimated to Rs 17 billion but later after revision and cuts in some components in the project, the cost lowered down to Rs 8 billion.

Similarly a component has also been slashed in fresh PC-I and in result cost has also come down by Rs 3 billion.

After completion of the project, it would treat 460 million gallon per day (MGD) sewage. Currently the sewage is falling into the Arabian Sea, which is matter of great concern.

Sindh government has spent Rs 3 billion while the Centre has spent around Rs 1.75 billion on the project so far.

Orangi Town and Gujjar Nullah sewerage line construction have also been designed in conduit system.

The approval of ECNEC is required for leftover segments of Lyari River portion and whole of Malir.

Twenty two kilometers long Lyari sewerage system will be built on conduit basis with four phases. Around 90 percent of construction work has been completed and the remaining job would be carried out soon after the release of funds for this purpose.

Instead of two conduits on Malir sewerage system, there has been proposed a single conduit in order to save around Rs 3 billion.

S-III project is being carried out with the help of a British consultancy firm, WS Atkins.

Karachi Port Trust (KPT) has also been asked by federal and Sindh governments to start work on its own on 60 MGD treatment plant. The land has been reserved on Mai Kolachi Road for this purpose.

A spokesman of KPT was of the view that cost on the project would come at around Rs 1.5 billion to Rs 2 billion with an estimated completion period of two years.

The responsibility of sewerage treatment from Nehra-e-Kahayyam accumulation and parts of old city areas will be borne on KPT.

According to Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, the rehabilitation of three existing treatment plants (TP-I, TP-II and TP-III) and TP-IV are designed by a new treatment plant. Total hydraulic capacities of treatment plants are approximately 500 MGD.

The status of combined Effluents Treatment Plants in the industrial areas of Karachi was also under consideration. The project’s cost had ballooned and it was now crucial to avoid further delays.

Federal and provincial governments as well as KPT should take initiative and play their due role in completing this key project.

Since decades Karachi’s coastlines have been receiving untreated sewage from Lyari River, Malir River and various Nallahs, along with large amount of solid waste/floating pollutant. This had converted coastal belt into a big cesspool and was causing problems for port operations and results huge cost for required dredging operations.

Besides, it has severely destroyed the environmental condition at coastline, health and hygiene, ecological balance-results in loss of mangroves, fishery export and tourism, viewed Qamar Qureshi, President Economic Forum Pakistan on the matter.

After completion of the project, the city would have clean coastal water, improved public health and hygienic conditions, increased fishery export, revamping of marine life, improved Karachi sewerage system, direct and indirect employment and increased tourism.

Encroachments from TP-I and TP-III have been completely removed and boundary walls are being erected to avoid any encroachment in future.