RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government will decide whether to finance the Rs52 billion Daducha Dam water supply project on its own or seek foreign donors to complete the scheme aimed at bringing 35 million gallons daily (MGD) to the garrison city.
A senior official of the Planning and Development Department told Dawn that a pre-Punjab External Financing Assessment Committee (PEFAC) meeting would be held in Lahore on Monday (today) to discuss the project.
He said the provincial government had asked the Rawalpindi Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) to prepare a project concept and submit it to the Planning and Development Department for consideration.
In this regard, a pre-PEFAC meeting would be held in Lahore with the chairman of the Planning and Development Board in the chair.
He said Wasa had proposed completing the project by 2029 if work begins in the next fiscal year 2026-27. The total cost has been estimated at Rs52 billion, with 70 per cent to be arranged from development partners and 30 per cent from the government, if the project is not financed entirely through provincial funds.
He termed it a very important project, saying the total water demand of the garrison city stands at 72.1 MGD, while there is already a shortfall of 21 MGD. The deficit is projected to increase by 27.3 MGD by 2030 if work is not started soon.
When contacted, Wasa Managing Director Saleem Ashraf said work on the Daducha Dam water supply project was in progress, as the provincial government had asked the agency to move the summary and PC-II to the Planning and Development Department for final approval.
He said the Planning and Development Department would decide the fate of the project within a day or two after reviewing its technical aspects and importance. He added that work at the dam site had been completed by more than 35 per cent and there was a need to start work on bringing 35 MGD of water to the garrison city in the meantime.
He said the Rs14 billion Daducha Dam was being constructed upstream of the Ling River to collect rainwater from the Murree and Kahuta hills in a lake at Daducha village near Sihala on Kahuta Road.
According to the plan, Mr Ashraf said, Rs5 billion would be spent on land acquisition, Rs9 billion on the water treatment plant, Rs3.5 billion on groundwater storage, and Rs1.19 billion on laying 119 kilometres of water supply lines, along with other expenditures.
He said Wasa Rawalpindi was supplying water to residents from surface and groundwater sources. Rawal Dam is the oldest and main surface water source, supplying more than 23 MGD against its installed capacity of 28 MGD.
“Khanpur Dam is the second source of surface water, and Wasa is receiving six MGD from it due to a shortage of water in Khanpur Lake,” he said.
He added that groundwater in the Wasa-administered area is abstracted through 500 operational tubewells, supplying about 35 MGD. These tubewells account for more than 60 per cent of the total water currently supplied from all available sources, he noted.
“The present sources are not enough to cater to the future demand of the growing population of Rawalpindi city. Switching from groundwater to surface water is essential to meet future demand, as the groundwater recharge potential is no longer sufficient,” he said.
Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2026
