Water supply project gets funding
The Chahan Dam Water Supply Project, aimed at supplying an additional 25 million gallons of water per day from the Chahan Dam and Rawal Dam, has received a funding boost of Rs33.859b from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Under this project, the contracts for Lot 2 and Lot 3, worth Rs20.4 billion, have been awarded to the Turkish company 5H Insaat, with a delay of seven months.
The contracts for Lot 1 and Lot 4 had already been awarded.
The completion of all four contracts is expected within three years.
Details show that the delay in awarding the contracts for Lots 2 and 3 stemmed from a disagreement between the Punjab government and the Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA).
WASA had initially proposed that the contracts be awarded as a joint venture with a Pakistani company. Still, the Punjab government ultimately decided to award them exclusively to the Turkish company. The contract for Lot 2 is valued at Rs8.3 billion, and for Lot 3 at Rs12.1 billion.
Work on Lot 1 and Lot 4 is already underway. Lot 1 involves the construction of a 12 million gallons per day water treatment plant at Chahan Dam, for which Rs6.36 billion contract was awarded to China Construction Third Engineering Group.
Lot 4 includes the upgradation of filtration plants, pumping machinery, and the restoration of old water supply lines from Rawal and Khanpur Dams.
The work will ensure 24-hour water supply to areas such as Khayaban-e-Sir Syed. The contract for Lot 4, valued at Rs7.199 billion, was awarded to a joint venture between MS Metra Kan and 5H Insaat.
The completion of these projects will significantly improve the water supply system in Rawalpindi, particularly in the six union councils along Adiala Road and the city areas of Khayaban-e-Sir Syed.
The project, funded by Rs33.859 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank, also includes the installation of a main pipeline from the Chahan Dam to Chak Jalal Din under Lot 2, and the development of a distribution network from Chahan Dam to supply water to residents under Lot 3.
Hamza Salik has been appointed project director for the initiative, with Zeeshan Shaukat Gondal serving as deputy project director at WASA. WASA Managing Director Muhammad Saleem Ashraf confirmed that these projects, alongside the filtration plants at Rawal and Khanpur Dams, will resolve water shortages for 46 union councils in Rawalpindi and six adjacent union councils along Adiala Road.
The completion of these projects will also help reduce operational costs, including the elimination of 70-80pc of WASA's tube wells, leading to a significant decrease in electricity expenses.
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