THE water issue in Gwadar has two facets — water availability and water storage. The problems have persisted for at least the last 30 years. I once worked as a consultant to the Public Health Engi-neering Department in 1998, and have a working knowledge of the issues involved.

One of the projects I remember was about the rehabilitation of a 134km ductile iron pipeline from Akra Kaur dam to Gwadar town and a branch to Jiwani via Pishokan. It involved general rehabilitation of the system, including protection against corrosion. The system was functional till 2008.

The dam is fully silted up and de-silting is immediately required. It is proposed that the dam be de-silted, solar pumps with ‘stored’ hydropower or batteries be installed, and the pipeline be re-examined. The type of pipe used should be ductile iron that has a life exceeding 100 years.

There is no reason why this key project cannot take off, becasue the whole area is relatively easy to secure against terrorism.

Iqbal Mirza Nazar
Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2025