European Investment Bank keen to collaborate on KWSC’s potential projects

A high-level delegation from the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) visited the headquarters of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) at Karsaz on Monday.

The delegation held a meeting with KWSC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Engineer Syed Salahuddin Ahmed. The EU delegation was led by Edwardas Bumšteinas, Head of Division for Asia, Central Asia, and the Pacific. It included Marco Irina, Loan Officer for Asia and Central Asia, Jeroen Willems, EIB’s first Counsellor and Head of Cooperation for Pakistan, Farah Farooq, Joint Secretary of the Government of Pakistan, and representatives from the World Bank, including Senior Consultant for Water Resources Tiziana Smith, Social Sector Programme Leader Leslie Cordero, and Senior Social Development Specialist Kamran Akbar.

During the meeting, the KWSC CEO highlighted the recent reforms and initiatives undertaken by the new management of the water corporation, which has been recognized globally. He also informed the delegation about the KWSC’s roadmap for achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which focuses on clean water and sanitation.

The officials discussed the need for a $4 billion investment to improve water and sewerage infrastructure in Karachi, as identified in the Karachi Diagnostic Study. They noted that the Sindh government and the World Bank had signed a Cooperation of Commitment (CoC) in 2019 under the Karachi Water Sewerage Services Improvement Project (KWSSIP) to invest $1.6 billion over 12 years. However, an additional $2.4 billion is still required, which would need to be sourced through alternative financing and strong public-private partnerships.

The EIB expressed keen interest in collaborating with the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on potential projects for the water corporation. The delegation praised the KWSC’s short-, medium--, and long-term vision and its comprehensive, multi-sectoral roadmap for sustainable development. They were optimistic about the feasibility of projects like establishing water filtration plants, renewable energy-efficient infrastructure, and wastewater treatment and recycling, which could be shared with EIB’s Technical and Engineering Directorate for detailed feasibility studies in the future.

The EU representatives also highlighted the possibility of providing technical assistance to the corporation in its strategies to reduce non-revenue water and enhance the capacity of its existing staff.

The delegation expressed confidence in the water corporation’s potential to become one of the leading water supply facilities in the region and suggested that viable projects could be initiated, similar to those in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with potential collaboration with the World Bank under KWSSIP-2.

The visit concluded with the delegation touring the water corporation’s state-of-the-art Hydrant Management and Monitoring Centre. They commended the administration for its efforts in developing this facility despite the challenging geopolitical environment in Karachi.