Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has invited a Chinese company to undertake a more than 100-kilometre-long water pipeline project in Karachi during his visit to the HBSZ facility in Wuhan, China.
The chief minister said the Sindh government wanted the project completed at the earliest and would begin laying the pipeline as soon as possible. The Chinese company expressed its willingness to undertake the project.
During his visit, Murad Ali Shah also reviewed the manufacturing of new gates for the Sukkur Barrage and inspected preparations for 100 canal gates. Sindh Irrigation Minister Jam Khan Shoro also accompanied the delegation.The chief minister stressed the importance of the Sukkur Barrage, describing it as the economic lifeline of Sindh because of its crucial role in the province’s irrigation system.
He noted that improvements in water flow had been achieved around 90 years after the barrage’s formal restoration, adding that it was among the world’s major barrages in terms of its command area.
During a briefing, officials informed the chief minister that each Sukkur Barrage gate weighs more than 50 tonnes and would be transported to Pakistan after completion.
The Sukkur Barrage improvement project is in its fourth consecutive year. Of the 54 river gates and their operating systems, 44 have been replaced and activated, while civil repair work on these gates has also been completed. The remaining 10 gates have been fabricated and are expected to be shipped to Sukkur soon.The restoration project was launched on February 24, 2023, with a target completion date of June 30, 2027.
The rehabilitation and modernisation contract was awarded jointly to China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and HBSZ. The project is being carried out with financial assistance from the World Bank, the federal government and the Sindh government.
The broader initiative also includes the rehabilitation of the Sukkur and Guddu barrages, which are critical to Sindh’s irrigation network and agricultural economy.
