Pakistan completes 5MGD water pipeline from Swad Dam to Gwadar

by Khalid Aziz

Islamabad (July 28): In a major development to overcome water shortage in Gwadar, the government has completed a 67-kilometre long pipeline to bring 5 million gallons of water per day from Swad Dam to the port city, an official told Gwadarpro on Tuesday.

The pipeline has almost reached  the old airport, where water is being distributed through bowsers, the official said. In the next phase, a pipeline network will be laid down for supplying water to the households, he said.

The official said that the pipeline will resolve the issue of water scarcity in Gwadar. Presently, the city needs 7.5 million gallons of water per day, while together with the new 5MGD pipeline, it is getting 1.5MGD water from Akra Kaur Dam and 1MGD water from the reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant installed by China Overseas Ports Holding Co., the official said. The RO plant is fulfilling the needs of Gwadar Free Zone, he said.

Also, another pipeline is under construction to bring 2.5MGD water from Shadi Kaur dam to the Swad Dam for onward supply to Gwadar. Over 80% of work on this project has also been completed, after which the Swad Dam will alone provide 7.5MGD water to the city, the official said. The government is also working on another 150-kilometre-long pipeline to provide further 5MGD water from Mirani dam to Gwadar, he said.

Sustainability: the official, however, said that dam water is not a permanent solution to the problem, as the water level in these dams often goes down in drought conditions. He said that the only sustainable solution is RO plants, adding that China was helping Pakistan in this area do away with the issue on a sustainable basis. Apart from the 1MGD plant of the COPHC, the Chinese government will provide a grant for another 1.2MGD desalination plant to ease the situation. Similarly, the federal government has also launched a 5MGD RO plant project to be completed in three years, while another project of 2MGD RO plant is also in the pipeline, he said.

Future demand: the official said that Gwadar will need 16MGD of water in 2025, which will go up to 40MGD in 2035. The projects underway are meant to provide a total of 22.5MGD of water to the city, so the government will need to roll out more projects to meet the future demand, he said.