Fasten seatbelts for traffic nightmare!

Officials, however, have yet to finalise a plan for alternative routes and traffic management. The Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (KWSSIP) has confirmed that the roads will be excavated to lay augmentation pipelines.

Project Manager Faisal Javed at his office that a strategy was being prepared to maintain traffic flow and minimise inconvenience to commuters. He said the work would be carried out in phases, with excavation limited to stretches of one to three kilometres at a time rather than opening up the entire city simultaneously.

The project team would also be responsible for restoring roads after the pipelines were installed, he added. The estimated cost of the augmentation project is Rs72 billion, although the amount could increase., the tendering process is under way, and work is expected to begin in January 2027.

The timeline drew questions from journalists, who pointed out that the 2.7-kilometre stretch between Hasan Square and NIPA had taken a year to complete. Asked how the authorities expected to finish work on 96 kilometres of roads in just 22 months, Javed maintained that the augmentation project would meet its deadline.

The project is being funded by two international financial institutions, with the Sindh government contributing 20% of the cost, Javed said. Excavation is also expected to encounter infrastructure belonging to Sui Southern Gas Company and K-Electric.

He said a formula had been prepared to cover payments related to the utilities' installations. Once completed, the augmentation lines are expected to support the supply of an additional 250 million gallons of water per day to Karachi through the K-IV project, drawing water from Keenjhar Lake.

The additional supply is intended for areas facing severe shortages or receiving little or no water. The briefing also covered KWSSIP's broader efforts to improve the city's water supply and sewerage infrastructure. Established by the Sindh government three years ago, the organisation is implementing projects financed through loans from international financial institutions.

Javed said three components had been completed under the first phase at a cost of $100 million. These included work on pipeline No 5 at the Dhabeji pumping station, improvements at the Pipri pumping station and measures to protect pipelines along the Lyari River.

He said the replacement of the 5.5-kilometre pipeline at Dhabeji alone had cost Rs2.5 billion. The organisation's projects are expected to be completed within four and a half years, with $1.4 billion earmarked for improvements to water supply and sewerage infrastructure.

The briefing was the first time in three years that KWSSIP had invited the media to discuss its projects. Journalists said officials were unable to provide satisfactory answers to several questions, while Project Director Ayesha Hameed did not appear before the media.