CDA, IFC Partner to Advance Islamabad’s Water and Sewerage Infrastructure
Islamabad: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will extend technical assistance to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for the implementation of three water supply and sewerage projects in the federal capital.
An agreement to this effect was signed on Friday at CDA Headquarters. The signing ceremony was attended by Interior Secretary Mohammad Khurram Agha, CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa, Member Planning and Design Dr Khalid Hafiz, the IFC Regional Director, and senior officials from CDA’s Islamabad Water and the IFC, according to a press release.
Under the agreement, the IFC will provide transaction advisory and technical support to the Islamabad Water Agency for projects to be executed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework. The CDA stated that these advisory services are being procured in line with relevant rules and regulations to ensure the successful completion of the projects.
The projects aim to address long-standing challenges in Islamabad’s water supply and sewerage systems. Key components include improving the availability of clean drinking water, installing water meters, reducing non-revenue water, enhancing the energy efficiency of water pumps, and rehabilitating sewerage lines and sewage treatment plants.
According to the CDA, completion of these initiatives is expected to significantly increase the authority’s revenue, which will be reinvested to further improve water supply services in the city.
Speaking at the ceremony, the CDA chairman said that implementing the projects under a PPP model would strengthen monitoring mechanisms and help curb water wastage. He added that modern technology would be used to monitor all water installations and pumping stations, leading to more efficient and reliable water supply. He reaffirmed the authority’s commitment to providing residents of the federal capital with improved water and sewerage facilities while fully leveraging the IFC’s technical expertise and experience.
The CDA noted that prior in-principle approval for executing the projects under the PPP model has already been granted by the CDA Board and the Public-Private Partnership Board.
An official familiar with the matter described the initiative to improve clean water supply and install water meters as a positive step, but stressed the need to explore new water sources to meet growing demand. He pointed out that no major new water source has been developed since the construction of Khanpur Dam in the 1990s, despite rapid population growth in Islamabad.
Currently, the city’s daily water demand exceeds 250 million gallons, while the CDA supplies around 70 million gallons per day from its three main sources — Simly Dam, Khanpur Dam and tubewells. However, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi recently stated that the issue of water scarcity in Islamabad would be addressed.