LAHORE: The work on the fourth underground rainwater storage tank at Qaddafi Stadium will be completed in January 2025 at the cost of Rs995 million; it will be the biggest storage tank in the city with a capacity of holding 4 million gallons of rainwater.

According to sources, the Water and Sanitation Authority (Wasa) Lahore, the executing agency of the project, completed 40 percent of the work on the water storage tank.

While designing these storages it is ensured that it fulfils three aims: drain out rainwater from streets and thus ensure smooth traffic flow, store rainwater for recharging of underground water and use the stored water for horticulture purposes and thus lessening the burden on the underground water.

In this connection, Wasa Lahore Vice Chairman Chaudhry Shahbaz Ahmed inspected the under-construction water tank. On this occasion, Project Director Usman Babar briefed the Vice Chairman about the details of the project.

While addressing the meeting, the Vice Chairman said that this project is of utmost importance in conserving rainwater as after its completion, four million gallons of water would be conserved and subsequently used for watering parks and horticulture activities.

“This storage facility would reduce concerns of urban flooding in the area surrounding the stadium,” he added, adding that they would construct nine more such water tanks at different locations in Lahore this year.

It may be mentioned that Wasa Lahore has already completed underground rainwater storage at Lawrence Road, Kashmir Road and Sheranwala Gate, and they are operational.

During the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s Punjab government, more sites were identified for the construction of these storages, which included Tajpura, Karim Park on Ravi Road, Railway Station, Waris Road, Copper Road, Rasool Park and Fruit and Vegetable Market in Allama Iqbal Town with a storage capacity ranging between 1.5 million gallons and 1.8 million gallons.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024