Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair has said that availability of water is one of the most significant concerns for Karachiites as the same was of pivotal impoortance for human consumption This, he said, during a briefing by HUBCO team led by its chief executive officer Khalid Mansoor, here on Wednesday at Governor House.
The Sindh Governor further said that the federal government has announced water policy with the consensus of all four provinces. While acknowledging the unavailability of the required water in Karachi, he said that the first phase of K-IV has been initiated which would add 260MGD water to Karachi.
He said the federal government has also announced a desalination plant in the budget to desalinate the sea water. This would be an immense step in providing potable water to citizens of Karachi. While lauding the proposed desalination project of HUBCO at its Hub plant, the governor said that this project would also be a welcome addition in this regard.
He also appreciated the plan of HUBCO to make electricity from garbage of city and then use this energy for desalination of sea water. He also commended the efforts of the company in energy sector in Thar and said that Engro and HUBCO are the main pioneers to utilise Thar coal. Their plants once operational would help produce more than 5,000MW of electricity, he added.
The Governor Sindh was briefed about HUBCO's waste to energy and water solution plan in detail. It was informed that existing HUBCO plant could be utilized for desalination of sea water.
It was further informed that Karachi produces 470MGD of waste water while requirement for industrial use is around 200MGD. KW&SB has three water waste treatment plants with a combined capacity of 150MGD, it was briefed.
It was stated that HUBCO plans to take over operation and maintenance of these treatment plants and install tertiary treatment and RO to produce industrial water. It was also briefed that according to an estimate around 16500 tons of solid waste is generated in Karachi daily. HUBCO plans to utilize this garbage for producing electricity to operate desalination and recycling plants to provide potable water to Karachiites and recycled water to industries, it was added.