Capital’s decades-old water, sewage lines to be replaced:CDA-Korean partnership

[LahoreEstate]

By Fazal Sher

ISLAMABAD: The Korean government is likely to execute the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) decade old water supply and sewage lines replacement project, a senior official told Daily Times on Thursday.

The Korean government has given $1.5 million soft loan to the government through Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and intends to execute water supply and sewerage lines replacement project through this fund, he said.

He said the CDA after enquiring from EAD about the terms and conditions of the loan would sign an agreement with the Korean government. The authority had sent a summery to EAD for provision of Rs 6 billion for this project or arrange a donor for the purpose, he added.

The CDA had prepared a proposal to replace water supply system and planned to start work on it in 2009 and complete it in 2012 on Engineering, Planning and Construction (EPC) basis, he said, adding, but due to shortage of funds the CDA failed to start work on it.

He said under this plan, the whole water supply system would be replaced in developed as well as the new sectors. “Replacement of water supply system in a developed city is not an easy task, therefore the CDA has decided to execute this project on EPC basis through an international firm, he said.

They said if CDA succeeded in replacing existing water supply system, the current water reservoirs would fulfil needs of residents otherwise Islamabad would face severe water shortage in future.

He said most of the supply lines were old and resulting in 40 percent wastage of water, due to which every summer people faced acute water shortage. He said the water crisis would further aggravate in future as the authority had planned to launch seven new residential sectors.

“The old supply lines are not only causing wastage of water but also hygienic problems,” he said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...009_pg11_3