KARACHI, March 7: The Sindh government has approached the economic affairs division, Islamabad, for preparation of a feasibility report in consultation with local and foreign technical experts for exploring alternative sources of water, including desalination of seawater to meet the needs of Karachi.

This was stated by Sindh minister for planning and development Shoaib Ahmed Bukhari in a meeting with a delegation of the Karachi Port Trust.

The KPT officials briefed the minister on desalination plant to be installed by a US company in the city in collaboration with the KPT. The feasibility of the project is currently under way by M/S California Enviro Management, and is expected to be completed in six months.

The US Trade and Development Agency is providing funds for the purpose. A contract in this regard was signed by US Ambassador Nancy Powell and the KPT officials on Jan 23 in the city.

The KPT will provide the land required for the project free of cost. The completion period of the project would be 18 to 24 months after finalization of the feasibility. The desalination plant, costing about US$70 million, would have a capacity of 25MGD while the cost of water per 1,000 gallon has been estimated at US$2.

The plant would be built at the Karachi port on a BOT basis.

—PPI