GDA Says Gwadar Water Situation Improves After Crisis Management Measures

Gwadar: The Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) held a media briefing regarding the water crisis in Gwadar and steps taken to address the issue, stating that the city’s water situation has significantly improved compared to previous months.

Director General GDA, Moin-ur-Rehman Khan, said the authority effectively managed the crisis under extremely challenging circumstances. He explained that due to insufficient rainfall over the past two years, both Sod Dam and Ankara Dam had dried up, leading to an acute water shortage in the city.

He said that in August 2025, the provincial government reassigned responsibility for water supply from the Public Health Engineering Department to GDA in the public interest. Despite the major challenge, GDA took immediate and long-term measures to stabilize the situation.

During the briefing, Chief Engineer GDA, Haji Syed Muhammad, shared detailed information about the projects undertaken. He stated that with federal government funding, GDA completed an Rs11 billion water supply project in Gwadar. The project includes approximately 150 kilometers of main transmission line, 150 kilometers of distribution line, water tanks with a combined capacity of around 10 million gallons at four locations, and 11 pumping stations, all fully equipped.

He noted that since 2019, water has been supplied to Gwadar through a transmission system linking Shadi Kaur Dam to Sod Dam and onward to the city. Up to September 2025, a total of 4,542 million gallons of water had been supplied under this system.

During the peak of the crisis, GDA arranged emergency water supply from multiple sources, including 84 million gallons transported by tankers from Mirani Dam, 173 million gallons from Shadi Kaur Dam, and 78 million gallons from the desalination plant operated by Gwadar Port Authority. This amounted to approximately 335 million gallons in total.

The chief engineer described the tanker operation from Mirani Dam as a significant administrative challenge, given past allegations of irregularities in the system. However, through negotiations with tanker owners and the water committee, GDA ensured water supply at rates lower than the market price. Around Rs700 million was spent on the tanker operation, with no reported cases of corruption or irregularities.

He further stated that GDA rehabilitated the 150-kilometer Shadi Kaur–Gwadar pipeline, which had remained non-functional for over three and a half years. The restoration faced multiple hurdles, including power shortages, reliance on generators, damaged sections of the pipeline, theft of equipment, weather impacts, and security concerns. The DG GDA personally visited the field to inspect progress and encourage teams, accelerating the pace of work.

Water supply through the Shadi Kaur line began at 500,000 gallons per day and has now increased to between 1.8 and 1.9 million gallons per day for Gwadar. Including supply to Pasni, nearby villages, and government institutions along the route, the total daily supply exceeds 2.5 million gallons.

The chief engineer also said that the 12 MGD Chinese water desalination plant, established with the cooperation of the Chinese government, was restored during the crisis to ensure water supply to the Old Town area. The Gwadar Port Authority team played a key role in this effort.

He added that after stabilizing permanent sources, tanker supply from Mirani Dam has been completely discontinued due to its high cost. Currently, Gwadar is receiving water through the Shadi Kaur pipeline and the desalination plant.

GDA has also laid new pipelines across the city and modernized the distribution system. More than 15,000 house connections have been shifted to the new network. To streamline operations, a billing system is being introduced, proposing a fixed monthly fee of Rs300 for domestic consumers, while commercial users will be charged according to consumption.

The chief engineer concluded that a dedicated water section has been established within GDA, and the city has been divided into North and South zones for systematic management. He said these measures were implemented under the directives of Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti and the continuous supervision of the DG GDA.