• First phase, designed to supply 260 MGD, is expected to be completed by December 2029, NA panel told
• Federal and provincial officials cite legal hurdles and implementation issues for delay in completion of much-needed scheme
• Lawmakers from Sindh voice concern over ‘insufficient’ budgetary allocations for uplift projects

KARACHI: After more than a decade of waiting for relief from chronic water shortages, Karachiites will have to wait even longer as federal government officials informed a parliamentary body on Tuesday that the long-awaited K-IV water supply project is unlikely to be completed before 2029 because of legal hurdles, coordination issues and implementation challenges.

The revised timeline emerged during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Planning, Development and Special Initiatives chaired by Syed Abdul Qadir Gilani, where federal and provincial planning officials briefed lawmakers on the project’s progress, the reasons behind the delays and the challenges hampering its implementation.

The update drew a sharp response from committee members, who questioned the repeated setbacks and called for stricter oversight to expedite the scheme.

Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum in Sindh voiced strong reservations over the fresh update on the K-IV project and the “inadequate federal funding” for the province’s development projects, warning that persistent financial constraints were delaying key infrastructure schemes and widening the development gap between the federation and Sindh.

The meeting was attended by committee members Zulfiqar Bachani, Naz Baloch, Farhan Chishti, Akhtar Bibi, Sami-ul-Hassan Gilani and others.

Special invitations were extended to MNAs from Sindh representing various political parties, including Ejaz Jakhrani, Dr Nafisa Shah, Dr Sharmila Faruqui, Shabbir Bijarani and Shahryar Khan Mahar of the Pakistan Peoples Party; Arshad Vohra, Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan, Asiya Ishaq of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan and others.

Federal Secretary for Planning and Development Awais Sumra, Chairman of the Sindh P&D Board Najam Ahmed Shah, senior officials from the Karachi Port Trust (KPT), the National Highway Authority (NHA), the Sindh Local Government Department and federal and provincial planning departments also attended the session.

During the briefing on the K-IV project, the committee expressed serious concern over the prolonged delay in the scheme.

“Federal and provincial planning officials presented a detailed briefing on the project’s progress, implementation challenges and legal obstacles,” said a statement issued after the meeting.

“They [officials] informed the committee that coordination with the Water and Power Development Authority [Wapda] and legal issues relating to the augmentation component being executed by the Sindh government with World Bank assistance had slowed progress.

“Officials stated that while both the federal and provincial governments were committed to completing the project at the earliest opportunity, it could still take another two years. They further informed the committee that the first phase of the K-IV project, designed to supply 260 million gallons per day to Karachi, was expected to be completed by December 2029,” it added.

The revised timeline prompted strong reservations among the NA committee members, who demanded the formation of a special committee to engage all stakeholders and closely monitor implementation.

Accepting the demand, MNA Gilani immediately constituted a committee, led by committee member Farhan Chishti, to consult all stakeholders and submit a comprehensive report to the Standing Committee, the statement said.

Centre’s disparity against Sindh criticised

During the meeting, the lawmakers from Sindh expressed serious concern over the “insufficient allocations for the province’s development projects in the current federal budget.” They referred to many ongoing schemes that had already suffered delays due to inadequate funding, while newly approved and under-construction projects were also facing financial constraints.

Responding to the criticism, the federal secretary said the central government was compelled to reduce development allocations due to fiscal constraints. He informed the meeting that Rs192 billion had been earmarked for Sindh’s development projects out of the Rs1 trillion federal development budget for the current financial year.

However, he acknowledged that annual reductions in the allocated funds at the end of each financial year often disrupted development work and delayed project completion.

The committee devoted considerable attention to the long-delayed Hyderabad-Sukkur (M-6) Motorway. Committee members and invited parliamentarians strongly criticised the federal government’s failure to release adequate funds for what they described as one of Pakistan’s most strategically important transport corridors.

They maintained that the M-6 Motorway was not merely a project for Sindh but a vital national artery linking different parts of the country. They questioned why the Lahore-Bahawalnagar Motorway had received prompt financial support while the M-6 project continued to suffer repeated delays.

Federal P&D Secretary Sumra explained that the government lacked sufficient financial resources to execute the project independently and therefore had to seek financing from international financial institutions, a process that inevitably required time.

Committee members rejected the explanation and urged Standing Committee Chairman Gilani to formally convey their concerns to the prime minister and all relevant federal ministers, calling for immediate intervention to end the years-long delay.

Participants of the meeting also recommended summoning the chairman of the NHA and the federal secretary for the Communications Ministry to brief the committee and respond to lawmakers’ concerns.

They further stressed that, alongside the immediate construction of the M-6 Motorway, all NHA-managed roads in Sindh should be upgraded to improve connectivity and facilitate economic activity across Pakistan.

“The committee has deliberately convened its session in Karachi to directly address Sindh’s longstanding development concerns,” the statement quoted Mr Gilani as stating.

“We want Sindh to receive its rightful share of federal development resources. Bridging the gap between the federal and provincial governments and promoting greater harmony among the provinces are essential to ensuring that no province is left behind in the country’s development.”

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2026