The World Bank last week approved $240 million in financing for the second Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (KWSSIP-2), aimed at providing safely managed water, sanitation, and hygiene services (WASH) for residents of the Sindh capital.
“Safely managed WASH services are the foundation of public health and quality of life, and are central to addressing the stunting crisis in Pakistan,” said Najy Benhassine, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan. “KWSSIP-2 will expand the scope of investments in bulk water augmentation, water treatment, wastewater treatment and reuse, water distribution, and sewer network rehabilitation. About half of all beneficiaries will be women, 58 percent will be youth (aged 15–24), and will cover more than half a million people in katchi abadis,” he added.
The project builds on KWSSIP-1, financing and expanding on several investments to strengthen Karachi’s water supply, sewerage, sanitation, and treatment infrastructure. The long-term benefits of the project include reduced cost of using alternative water sources, reduced time spent collecting water, and health benefits from reducing waterborne diseases.
“KWSSIP-2 will also continue to address the gender gap in employment, representation, and leadership at the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) through gender-inclusive recruitment plans to hire more women in technical and decision-making positions,” said Khairy Al-Jamal, Task Team Leader for the project. “It will support technical training for women, institutionalize an internship program for women graduates and create pathways for them to find employment within the utility, and support promoting women employees to higher-grade positions.”
The project will provide safely managed water supply to nearly 16 million people and sanitation services to nearly 7.5 million people in Karachi by 2030. It will also improve the performance and financial sustainability of KWSC and promote private sector partnership in delivery of WASH services.
This project is the first phase of the World Bank-backed Pakistan Urban WASH Services Program that aims to reach 33.5 million people with safely managed WASH services by 2035. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will co-finance KWSSIP-2 with $240 million. The provincial government will contribute $250 million, and the private sector and commercial finance will provide $269 million.