LAHORE: Pakistan has decided to seek assistance from Chinese experts and engineers to restore the Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) Desalination Plant to full operational capacity, as part of efforts to tackle the city’s worsening water crisis.
Officials made the decision during a meeting on Gwadar’s water and power situation chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal. The meeting reviewed the city’s chronic shortages of water and electricity.
GPA Chairman Noor-ul-Haq Baloch and Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) Director General Moin Rehman Khan briefed the participants, noting that federal interventions had “significantly improved” the electricity supply. However, they warned that Gwadar is now facing an acute water shortage.
Officials said a prolonged dry spell of nearly 18 months has left the city’s two main reservoirs — Ankara Dam and Swad Dam — completely dry.
Authorities have reactivated the Shadi Kaur Dam pipeline after three and a half years to provide emergency relief, currently supplying about 1 to 1.2 million gallons of water daily. The GPA’s desalination plant is also producing between 500,000 and 600,000 gallons per day for older neighborhoods.
Ahsan Iqbal instructed relevant departments to deploy all available resources to contain the crisis. He directed officials to contact Chinese experts and engineers “immediately through the Chinese Embassy” to bring the desalination plant to full capacity.
The 1.2 million-gallon-per-day (MGD) seawater desalination plant, located in the Gwadar Free Zone, was built with a Chinese grant of US$12.7 million and inaugurated on December 4, 2023. The facility was designed to supply potable water to Gwadar’s old neighborhoods and the GPA itself.
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On the power front, the Ministry of Energy is preparing an Integrated System Plan to stabilize Gwadar’s electricity supply through local and alternative energy projects.
The Quetta Electric Supply Company (QESCO) has taken immediate steps to ensure 40–45 megawatts of uninterrupted electricity by installing shunt reactors, auto-voltage regulators, and polymer insulators.
Ahsan Iqbal also directed officials to fast-track all ongoing water and power projects and commission a comprehensive study to ensure long-term water security for Gwadar.
Federal Minister for Energy Awais Leghari, Additional Chief Secretary (Development) Balochistan Zahid Saleem, and senior officials from QESCO attended the meeting in person. GPA Chairman Noor-ul-Haq Baloch and GDA DG Moin Rehman Khan joined via video link.
