China-Funded Desalination Boosts Drinking Water Supply in Gwadar
Amid an ongoing water crisis caused by the depletion of local reservoirs, a China-funded 1.2 MGD desalination plant is now ready to provide between 7 to 8 million gallons of clean drinking water to Gwadar residents. The plant offers a much-needed lifeline to a region facing severe shortages due to minimal rainfall and empty dams such as Ankara, Swad, and Shadi Kaur.
The Balochistan government officially approved the purchase of water from this desalination facility on July 8. A key decision-making meeting—attended by Gwadar Port Authority Chairman Noor ul Haq Baloch, Public Health Engineering Secretary Imran Ghachki, GDA Director General Saif Ullah Khaitran, and Xen Engineer Momon Baloch—played a central role in fast-tracking the solution to Gwadar’s urgent water needs.
Funded through a generous Rs 2 billion grant from China, the project was executed in collaboration with the Gwadar Port Authority, National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK), and China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC). In addition to the plant, a one-kilometre-long water pipeline has been constructed to connect the facility to Gwadar city’s main water supply network.
Initially planned as a 0.5 MGD project, the plant was scaled up to meet increasing demand, with formal approval granted on July 5, 2021. In parallel efforts, the Gwadar Development Authority completed a 158 km water pipeline from Shadi Kaur and Swad Dams, alongside installing an additional 141 km of internal water distribution pipelines across the city.
According to GDA officials, this robust infrastructure means every household in Gwadar will now have access to potable water. Areas like Faqir Colony and Dhoor, already linked to the new network, are expected to receive a consistent supply this week, marking a major milestone in addressing the region’s water crisis.