CM vows to make Karachi livable, peaceful city.

KARACHI -- Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that if Karachi moves [in terms of economy] the whole country moves; therefore, Karachi has to develop faster for which he is making all out efforts by utilising local resources and resources and expertise of donor agencies to make it livable city and city of peace and prosperity.

This he said while talking an eight-member delegation of Chinese State-owned company, Energy China, led by its President Mr Luo Bixiong who called on him here at CM House to discuss and explore ways and means to work together with the Sindh government in water sector, water distribution in Karachi.

The meeting discussed K-IV project which has been halted temporarily to make necessary changes on its design. 'National engineering firm, Nespak is working on its design and as soon as it is finalised work would be started,' the chief minister said and added that the K-IV was most important project and would ensure to its completion.

The chief minister pointed out that the Karachi was the city of 17 million and its water requirement has been estimated at 1200 gallon per day but it was receiving only 500 MGD.

'We are working on different options to increase bulk water supply to the city so that its domestic as well as industrial requirement could be met,' he said.

The meeting discussed different options for working together.

The Hub River source conveyance system has flaws and faults, therefore line losses have been recorded much higher than the acceptable. The Chinese company showed interest to improve the system from Hub Source to Karachi.

The Chinese company on the chief minister's request said that they would work out details, including the estimated cost to install a 100 MGD desalination plant in Karachi. It was pointed out that in the past the desalination technology was uneconomical but now the latest technology has not only turned to be economical but more efficient.

The third proposal which came under discussion was treatment of Malir River waste water to use it for industrial purposes. The...