KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Thursday directed the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) to start the TP-I of the Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan, better known as S-III, by the end of August this year.

Presiding over a meeting at the CM House, he also ordered the KWSC to expedite work on TP-IV to achieve completion by the next year.

The meeting was attended among others by Planning and Development Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani and Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Planning and Development Chairman Najam Shah, LG Secretary Waseem Shamshad, DG PPP Unit Asad Zamin and KWSC Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Ali Siddiqui.

The S-III project is poised to address Karachi’s pressing wastewater management challenges, currently estimated at 400–450 million gallons per day (MGD), a significant portion of which is discharged untreated into the Lyari and Malir Rivers.

This initiative aims to intercept, treat and safely dispose of wastewater through upgraded infrastructure, thereby promoting environmental sustainability and protecting marine life while minimising public health risks. The main components of the project include various transmission packages across the Lyari and Malir River Basins, alongside enhancements to existing sewage treatment plants and the construction of new facilities.

The implementation of TP-I will rehabilitate an obsolete plant while expanding capacity, with the upgraded facility expected to be ready for commissioning by August 2025. Meanwhile, TP-IV encompasses a comprehensive wastewater treatment and recycling framework, including extensive flow measurements and water sampling across designated locations.

With a demand survey identifying a significant requirement of 42 MGD from over 3,600 industries in the region, the S-III project marks a vital step towards integrating effective wastewater management systems with urban infrastructure, ensuring a cleaner and more sustainable future for Karachi.

The CM was informed that the TP-I plant overhauling has been completed by 67 per cent, with only electrical works remaining, which would be finished if funds are made available.

The CM directed the water board to start TP-I by the end of August and to accelerate work on TP-IV, aiming for its completion within a year.

He also instructed the LG minister and the mayor to personally oversee the progress of the project so that the work could be completed within the deadline.

Solar panel price reduced on PPP’s suggestion: CM

Mr Shah said in Jacobabad that prices of solar plates had initially been increased in the federal budget but after their [PPP’s] objection, their rates had now been reduced.

He told reporters at Jakhrani House in Jacobabad after offering condolences to MNA Mir Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani and Mir Khalid Nawaz Jakhrani on the death their mother that his party had decided in principle to support the federal budget in the National Assembly.

Accompanied by provincial ministers Syed Nasir Shah, Ali Hassan Zardari, Mukesh Kumar Chawla, Saeed Ghani, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah and others, the CM said that Sindh also had some important issues, including the Pakistan Works Department (PWD), which the federation had abolished. The federal government was supposed to hand over its (PWD) powers to the provinces. Those powers were transferred to other provinces, but in Sindh’s case, its powers were handed over to a specific company, he added.

However, those powers would be handed over to Sindh, he added.

He admitted that the situation was still not perfect, but compared to past, incidents of abduction had decreased in the interior Sindh. They were working with police and Rangers to completely control lawlessness.

He said that establishing the law and order was their duty and the public had voted the PPP to power for that purpose.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2025