Extension of water resources in Faisalabad

Pakistan is one of the most water-stressed countries in the world. The quantity of water currently available is about 1080 m3/inhabitant/year, which is 5 times less than what it was in the early 1950s. Low water quality, an outdated pipe network, and lack of pressure and flow, further deteriorate the quality of the water  distributed to users.

Faisalabad, one of the Punjab province's main cities and the third largest city in Pakistan, faces the same situation. Today, out of nearly 3.4 million inhabitants, only two-thirds are connected to the water supply network. The city’s installed production capacity is 415,000 m3/day and should theoretically cover nearly 73% of the population's needs in the city. However, the groundwater quality in the city is brackish, leading to its urban population being completely dependent on water being supplied by Faisalabad Water and Sanitation Authority (F-WASA) - the only public sector

organization responsible for the provision of potable water in city. With financing from AFD, F-WASA is developing surface water resources through the installation of a water treatment plant complemented with extension and updating of pipe network.

In order to improve Faisalabad city's access to potable water, a program for strengthening the water supply was initiated in 2009. The first phase of the program, carried out between 2012 and 2015, was partly funded by an Emerging Country Reserve Fund from the French Public Treasury. The current project corresponds to Phase II of the program.

The project is aimed at improving the living conditions of Faisalabad's inhabitants by developing the public potable water supply. Its specific objectives are to:

• Extend the supply area and improve the quality (continuity and pressure) of the city's water supply;
• Preserve water resources;
• Strengthen the agency's financial viability through reduction of water losses;

This project envisages an increase in the city's potable water production capacity with the construction and expansion of treatment plants (+135,000 m3/day), to reduce unbilled water (physical and commercial losses) and extend the drinking water distribution network (+245 km in terms of the network and 56,500 new connections).

• The project will enable approximately 500,000 of Faisalabad's inhabitants to benefit from a safe drinking water supply service, and improve their living conditions both from the health and economic point of view.
• The project will also reduce water losses improving the utility, financial performance and service delivery.