WATER scarcity across Pakistan is getting worse with time. Karachi, the largest city of the country, faces extreme water shortage which compels people to buy it through costly water tankers. And, indeed, not everyone can afford to have this luxury owing to limited resources.

Currently, Karachi is dependent on the Keenjhar Lake that is fed by the Indus. With almost no water in Indus downstream of Sukkur barrage and zero water after Ghulam Mohammad barrage, things are getting critical.

The situation may become worse in the coming years because water from the Hub dam serves only a part of the city’s overall needs.

We need a solution similar to the one that has been adopted by many water-parched cities, especially in the Middle and Far East regions. Desalinated water can fulfil the basic needs of Karachi. There will be no more dependence on rains, river water flows and dams.

A project in this regard was initiated by the Defence Housing Authority (DHA) in Karachi more than a decade ago (as seen in the accompanying image), but it was abandoned not much later due to some technical issues.

Seawater desalination happens to be a perfectly proven technology and is readily available from many sources. All we need is seawater proximity and a power plant to supply uninterrupted power. We have an extended seafront and surplus power in the country. Our connected load capacity is way above the national requirement.

There are many power plants across Pakistan that have been shut down due to their higher fuel cost. One such plant is located in Hub, bordering Karachi, and it is next to the seashore. It used to be the biggest power plant in Pakistan, but it was run on costly fuel and, therefore, had to be shut down after the owners constructed a similar capacity plant based on coal.

This shutdown 1,200MW plant had been operational for decades, providing regular power. Its location adjacent to the seashore, and proximity to Karachi can meet Karachi’s water needs effectively.

The desalination plant can be put up in 18 months, and this period can be used to put in place a desalinated water pipeline.

S. Nayyar Iqbal Raza
Karachi

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2025