Wasa needs $50m to upgrade drainage, water systems: MD

LAHORE:Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) needed financial assistance of around $50 million for implementing a sustainable solution to replace and upgrade Lahore’s overall drainage and water systems to solve the existing problems.

This was told by Wasa’s Managing Director Syed Zahid Aziz on Thursday during an online meeting with the World Bank’s IFC Wing. The meeting was held to discuss Wasa’s plan of upgrading water supply and drainage systems of the provincial metropolis.

Agency’s MD told the meeting that a financial assistance of $50 million was required to upgrade the system. Syed Zahid Aziz told the World Bank’s delegation that ample opportunities were available for international banks to invest in water projects in Lahore.

He said surface water treatment plants were also essential to protect groundwater and construction of wastewater treatment plants in the city.

He told the meeting that a water metering project was introduced to improve water supply system. On the occasion, Director Planning and Design Zeeshan Bilal also briefed the meeting about Wasa’s ongoing and future projects.

Meanwhile, talking with the scribe, Wasa MD said that in a bid to provide relief to its domestic and commercial consumers, Agency had planned to introduce new tariffs. He said the new business plan would be submitted before the LDA’s governing body for approval very soon. Wasa MD said that Agency’s new business plan was a gift for the water consumers in the era of inflation. He said under the new business plan, special relief would be given to the consumers.

According to the new plan, Wasa has planned to reduce the tariff to Rs143 for a house of 3 marlas and Rs187 for a house of 3 to 5 marlas land. Furthermore, a house between 5 to 7 marla will pay a monthly bill of Rs232 while a house between 7 to 10 marla will pay a monthly bill of Rs276.

It was proposed to charge Rs320 from a house between 10 to 15 marlas, Rs436 from a house between 15 to 20 marlas, Rs552 from a house of 20 to 40 marlasand Rs784 from a house of more than 40 marlas.

Similarly, a category has been created to collect the bills of motors installed by commercial consumers. A monthly bill of Rs1,250 to Rs2,500 will be collected from the commercial building using a motor/pump of 2 horse power and a bill of Rs2,501 to Rs5,000 will be collected from a commercial building using a motor/pump of 2.1 to 4 horse power.

Agency’s MD said that the new policy would add 30,000 new users to Wasa's network. He said Wasa has also made a state-of-the-art customer service centre at Egerton Road where customers can lodge their complaints regarding water and sewerage problems.