Wastewater treatment project approved to boost sustainability

Express Tribune

21-04-2025

A project approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC), under the federal Planning and Development Department, for the construction of the Eastern Wastewater Treatment Plant (33 MGD) – Phase I in Faisalabad is expected to have long-term positive impacts on the environment and groundwater sustainability.
Officials say the project, to be established at Chak 244-RB in Faisalabad, includes the construction of a wastewater treatment facility, rehabilitation of a Katcha channel, laying of a trunk sewer from the terminal point of Channel 4 to the plant covering 2.6 kilometres, and the development of a 10.5-kilometre force main to discharge treated water into the Gogera Branch Canal.
With a total estimated cost of Rs53.66 billion, the project is included in the Annual Development Programme 2024–25 and is being funded through a loan by the Danish government's Danida Sustainable Infrastructure Finance (DSIF).
According to WASA Faisalabad Deputy Managing Director Saqib Raza, the Project Management Unit (PMU) was established in March 2022, and 90 acres of state land were transferred to the Housing and Urban Development Department for the project.
The selection process for a consultant began in February 2022 and was concluded in March 2022 with the appointment of NIRAS, Denmark, as the official project consultant.
WASA Managing Director Amir Aziz said a pre-qualification notice was issued in October 2022, and the process was finalized in December 2022 with two firms being pre-qualified.
Tender documents were issued in February 2023, technical bids opened in July 2023, and financial bids were reviewed in November 2023.
However, the submitted financial bids were higher than the approved loan ceiling, prompting WASA to negotiate a revised scope with the bidder.
The revised plan involved reducing the treatment plant's capacity from 200,000 to 150,000 million gallons per day and shortening the operation and maintenance period from five years to three.
WASA submitted a revised PC-1 in July 2024 through the Housing Department to the Planning and Development Board in Lahore. Following rigorous scrutiny, the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) cleared the project on October 2, 2024, and formally approved the revised PC-1 on January 27, 2025.
After months of technical planning and negotiation, the final approval by ECNEC has paved the way for launching the project.
The loan agreement with the Danish government is expected to be signed next week, operationalising a major environmental upgrade, an official said.