Industry News
2026-10-17Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated Phase I of the Karachi Haroonabad Sewage Treatment and Reuse Project (TP-1), with a Phase I capacity of 35 million gallons per day, supplying reclaimed water to the SITE industrial area; on the same day, Phase II was launched at 65 million gallons per day, bringing the total capacity to 100 million gallons per day. The Chief Minister of Sindh called it Pakistan's first large-scale sewage reuse project, adopting a public-private partnership model, with operating expenditure covered by water sales revenue.
I. Phase I Commissioned: 35 Million Gallons per Day Secondary Treatment Facility
According to reports by The News, Energy Update, WASH Pakistan and other media, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari inaugurated Phase I of the Sewage Treatment and Reuse Project (TP-1) at Haroonabad (Gutter Baghicha) in Karachi. The facility is a 35 million gallons per day (MGD) secondary sewage treatment facility, and the foundation stone was simultaneously laid for another 65 million gallons per day facility.
The project is also known as the "Karachi Industrial Water Park" and falls under the Greater Karachi Sewerage Plan (S-III). According to the plan, the construction period for Phase II is targeted at 6 months, and once fully completed, 2027年 can provide up to 100 million gallons per day of industrial process water.
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah stated at the ceremony that the project is Pakistan's first large-scale sewage reuse project of its kind—converting wastewater into a resource usable by industry. He emphasized that testing has shown the treated water quality is suitable for industrial use, and the facility will begin supplying water at full capacity within the coming days.
II. Core Mechanism: Replacing Equivalent Freshwater with Reclaimed Water
The most valuable logic of this project is not "how much sewage has been treated" but "how much freshwater has been displaced." According to official statements, Phase I supplies 35 million gallons per day of reclaimed water to industry, meaning an equivalent amount of freshwater currently supplied to industry can be redirected to Karachi residents for domestic use.
The Chief Minister explained this plainly: "Water currently allocated to industry can now be redirected to households, helping meet the city's growing water demand." In Karachi, where water resources are extremely strained, this "industry yielding water to residents" displacement model is more practically significant than a mere increase in sewage treatment capacity.
Environmental benefits were also emphasized: the project's circular economy model means wastewater generated by the city will be treated and converted into water suitable for industrial processes rather than becoming an environmental burden, thereby reducing the volume of pollution discharged into Karachi's rivers and the sea.
III. Business Model: Self-Sustaining Operations under Public-Private Partnership
Another breakthrough of the project lies in its financial structure design. According to the Sindh Chief Minister, the project was built using a public-private partnership (PPP) model and set a record for construction time; more importantly, its financial sustainability—industrial enterprises will purchase the treated reclaimed water, and operating expenditure can be covered by project revenue.
The Chief Minister stated explicitly: "Once operational, the project will be essentially self-sustaining, with daily operations requiring no additional financial support from the Sindh government." This statement has reference value for similar emerging market projects: in cities with limited fiscal space, whether reclaimed water projects can be implemented often depends not on the level of technology, but on whether industrial users willing to pay can be found, and using this to build a self-sustaining cash flow loop.
IV. Karachi's Water Reality: 472 Million Gallons of Sewage, Only 54 Million Gallons Treated
The urgency of the project stems from Karachi's severe water and sewage situation. According to Karachi Water & Sewerage Corporation (KW&SC) data, Karachi currently generates approximately 472 million gallons of sewage per day, while existing treatment facilities treat only about 54 million gallons—a treatment rate of only about 11%, with the vast majority of the remainder discharged untreated directly into rivers and the sea. The agency has set a long-term target of 2030年 treating 500 million gallons per day.
In other words, Karachi needs to increase its sewage treatment capacity from 54 million gallons per day to nearly 500 million gallons per day within just over four years, an increment of nearly tenfold. This gap not only explains why the local government is eager to promote the PPP model and industrial reuse, but also signals that the region will continue to release substantial demand for water infrastructure over the coming years.
In his speech, Bilawal also mentioned another recently completed project: a 25 million gallons per day sewage treatment facility commissioned several months ago in Keamari, with an additional 55 million gallons per day of planned capacity. The city's current status and targets are summarized as follows:
- Sewage generation — Karachi generates approximately 472 million gallons of sewage per day.
- Current treatment capacity — existing facilities treat only about 54 million gallons per day, a treatment rate of approximately 11%.
- 2030年 target — the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation has set a long-term goal of treating 500 million gallons per day by 2030年.
- Increment in the current phase — TP-1 Phase I of 35 million gallons per day has been commissioned, and Phase II of 65 million gallons per day has had its foundation stone laid, totaling 100 million gallons per day.
- Similar projects — the Keamari 25 million gallons per day facility was commissioned several months ago, with an additional 55 million gallons per day of planned capacity.
V. Attendance and Implementation Team
Attendees at the inauguration ceremony included Nisar Khuhro, President of the Pakistan Peoples Party Sindh chapter, several provincial ministers, Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab, as well as industry representatives, development partners, technical experts, and senior government officials. The Chief Minister congratulated the Mayor, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation, and all participating parties, stating that the successful completion of the project demonstrated what can be achieved through collaboration between government agencies and the private sector.
VI. Three Observations: Keys to Success for Reclaimed Water Projects in Emerging Markets
First, the willingness of industrial users to pay is a prerequisite for project viability. The Karachi project targets the SITE Industrial Area — an important employment and economic activity center in Pakistan — as the designated user of reclaimed water, which both solves the problem of water off-take and establishes a revenue basis. By contrast, reclaimed water projects aimed solely at ecological replenishment or municipal miscellaneous use often rely on fiscal subsidies due to the lack of paying parties.
Second, "replacing freshwater" garners more political and public support than "increasing water supply." The project's narrative has consistently centered on "returning an equivalent amount of freshwater to households," transforming a sewage project into a livelihood water supply project — a narrative framework that is crucial for securing policy support and public acceptance.
Third, the gap is the market. Between Karachi's 11% sewage treatment rate and the 2030年 target of 500 million gallons per day lies an order-of-magnitude difference. Similar situations are widespread in numerous rapidly urbanizing regions across Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. For Chinese water companies, the core opportunity in such markets lies not in individual EPC contracts, but in the combined overseas expansion of process package export + equipment supply + operation services.
TIANYI LIMITED has long been deeply engaged in the fields of wastewater treatment and reclaimed water reuse. Centered on three major directions — low-carbon processes, resource recovery, and smart operations — the company provides full-chain services from solution design, equipment manufacturing, and engineering construction to operation management for municipal wastewater treatment plants, industrial parks, and various water-using entities. With the goals of "stable compliance, energy saving and consumption reduction, and resource circulation," the company continuously helps customers reduce operating costs and enhance system resilience in the green and low-carbon transition.
Source: Compiled from reports by The News, Energy Update, WASH Pakistan, Bloom Pakistan, and others on the inauguration of Phase I of the Karachi Haroonabad TP-1 wastewater treatment and reuse project (2026年10月).
