Karachi has capacity for 200 MGD more water, Mayor urges Islamabad
KARACHI: Karachi has the infrastructure capacity to receive an additional 100 to 200 million gallons of water per day (MGD), Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab has claimed, urging the federal government to increase the city’s water allocation and take a decision on the matter.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the inauguration of development projects worth Rs731 million in the North Karachi Industrial Area, the mayor said the infrastructure required to transport additional water to Karachi had already been developed, and the federal government should now facilitate the provision of more water to the city.
Wahab said the federal government had previously maintained that Karachi lacked the necessary infrastructure to receive additional water. However, he argued that the required transmission infrastructure had been constructed and the issue now required a policy decision at the federal level.
“Instead of relying solely on dams, possibilities of bringing canal water to Karachi should also be explored,” he said, urging the federal government to support the Sindh government in increasing Karachi’s existing water allocation from dams.
The mayor stressed that water supply remained one of Karachi’s major infrastructure challenges and called for coordinated efforts between the federal and provincial governments to address the city’s growing requirements.
He said the matter should be resolved through decisions taken in Islamabad rather than allowing administrative differences to delay the provision of water to the country’s largest metropolitan city.
Wahab’s remarks come amid persistent concerns over Karachi’s water supply, with residential communities, commercial establishments and industrial units facing pressure on available water resources.
The mayor also called for exploring alternative water sources, including canal water, to reduce dependence on existing supply arrangements and improve the city’s long-term water security.
He said the federal government should play a constructive role in facilitating additional water supplies, particularly given the infrastructure capacity that he claimed was already available.
Addressing industrialists, Wahab said the provincial government was committed to working with the business community to improve Karachi’s infrastructure and create a more conducive environment for industrial and commercial activity.
He said better municipal facilities and reliable utilities were essential for sustaining economic activity, attracting investment and generating employment.
The mayor’s statement places renewed focus on the federal government’s role in Karachi’s water supply arrangements and raises questions about the utilisation of existing transmission infrastructure and the city’s future water allocation.
However, the claimed capacity to transport an additional 100 to 200 MGD would require independent technical verification, including details of the transmission system, available source water, pumping capacity and the actual volume that can be delivered to consumers.