Pakistan needs to revamp water infrastructures: WB
FAISALABAD (April 21 2008): Lack of a co-ordination between political parties and consensus among provinces is leading to difficulties in adoption and implementation of pending structural reforms, including water policy, power and Indus River System management in Pakistan.
World Bank (WB) experts in an updated project report of "Water Sector Capacity Building and Advisory Services Project (WCAP)", which will be completed with a cost of US $53.3 million, highlighted the Risk factors of the Project.
According to the report, slow economic growth tumbled down the global economy and internal volatile situation is leading to reduced investments. Structural impediments to economic growth in the country are also a major risk. Fiscal deficit deriving from low tax-collection and increased spending in addition to external pressures, stemming from rising international prices of oil, it added.
The report said, federal procurement practices, while generally strong, can be improved in terms of efficiency, international bidding and contract management.
It revealed that the WCAP, is financed only by the Government and IDA, Pakistan's water, irrigation and drainage and hydropower programs are fully co-ordinated with other major donors like the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Netherlands and DFID.
The implementation of project activities would be co-ordinated with other donors and stakeholders in Pakistan while the Ministry of Water and Power (MoWP) would be the implementing agency for the project.
The Project Steering Committee (PSC) headed by the Secretary, MoWP would provide policy guidance and monitor overall project implementation and outcome. The members of PSC would be the Secretaries of Finance, Privatisation Commission, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) and Environment, Member Planning Commission, Chairman Irsa, Chairman Wapda, Chief Executive IPDF, Chief Executive of Board of Investment, Advisor MoWP, and the Provincial Secretaries of Irrigation and Power.
The MoWP would be responsible for the overall implementation and co-ordination with other ministries and agencies in the government. The MoWP would anchor the project within the newly created Project Management and Policy Implementation Unit (PMPIU).
Further, the WB report mentioned that the key challenge for Pakistan is to sustain its recent growth performance in order to reduce poverty. Pakistan's recent growth performance is encouraging, but sustained growth will require continued sound macroeconomic management along with further improvements in the investment climate.
"Pakistan's infrastructure platform needs significant investment in order to support the growth and service delivery goals. Infrastructure services including electricity, paved roads, municipal services, and telecommunications are in reach of relatively low proportion of the total population", quoted the report.
Improvements in basic infrastructure are crucial to improve human development outcomes. Approximately 40 percent of the population lack access to power and about 75 percent of rural population lack health, education and market facilities. Similarly, the limited availability of water and sanitation services is the cause of human sufferings, it added.
The infrastructure challenge is particularly acute in terms of water as Pakistan relies on the largest contiguous irrigation system in the world, the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS), to provide basic food security (90 percent of food production and 25 percent of the Gross Domestic Product GDP). The IBIS canals are in fact main waterways supplying water for all uses in addition to irrigation and lifeline for the civilisation in the area, the WB recorded.
However, this massive infrastructure is deteriorating and needs rehabilitation with reforms to improve the allocation of water as well as the efficiency of its use.
Moreover, competition for water is growing fast among the provinces and for irrigation, industrial and domestic use and the environment. The WB update said that Pakistan has already begun ramping up its investments, beginning with the urgent rehabilitation of barrages and raising Mangla Dam will create additional storage.
Yet the country needs new water infrastructure including hydropower generation and urban-industrial and domestic supplies (50 percent of the population is not served by a formal supply system, sanitation and water treatment reaches less than 10 percent of the population).
The WB report observed that Pakistan successfully tackled the issues resulting from division of the Indus Waters (Indus Water Treaty of 1960 with India) and developed the IBIS into a colossal water system that is very unique in the world.
However, it showed concern that Pakistan today faces crises like increasing water stress, with limited groundwater that can be mobilised therefore, need building surface water storage facilities requiring huge investments. Secondly, acute power shortages and increasing demands need development of untapped hydropower resources.
The third is irrigation and drainage sector including low-surface water delivery efficiency, low productivity, water logging and salinity and degradation of the resource base, poor operation and maintenance and low cost recovery resulted in dilapidated infrastructure. The fourth crisis is basin-wide resources management issues, meeting flows to the delta region and finally the constrained investment climate in the sector, requiring huge investments to resolve all, added the WB update.
Business Recorder [Pakistan's First Financial Daily]
