New building for US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water inaugurated

KARACHI: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission Director Jerry Bisson and Deputy Mission Director Denise Herbol on Thursday inaugurated a new building and research center at Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET), Jamshoro.

The facility was constructed with the support of the U.S. government under the U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) project.

Highlighting the United States’ long-term commitment to strengthen Pakistan’s education sector and help find practical solutions for the country’s water challenges, Deputy Mission Director Denise Herbol said, “The work you all do here will have important implications for growth in Sindh and Pakistan.”

Education Minister Jam Mehtab Hussain Dahar expressed his appreciation for USAID support and thanked the United States for assisting in many projects in the province, including basic education and health.

Vice Chancellor of MUET, Dr. Muhammad Aslam Uqaili and Former Vice Chancellor MUET Prof. S. M. Qureshi were also present on the occasion.

The new three-story state-of-the-art building has a covered area of 54,721 square feet with an additional 108,600 square feet of open area for landscaping and future expansion. The facilities include five classrooms, six research labs, a library, a lecture theater/auditorium, a conference room, student common rooms, research scholars’ room and administration offices.

Through USAID, the U.S. government has provided $20 million for the construction of four new research centers at Pakistani universities.

This initiative is part of USAID’s larger $127 million U.S.-Pakistan Centers for Advanced Studies program that is harnessing applied research to find innovative solutions for Pakistan’s water, energy, agriculture, and food security challenges.