By Aslam Shah
KARACHI: Karachi’s two major World Bank-assisted urban infrastructure programmes — the Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project (KWSSIP) and the Competitive and Livable City of Karachi (CLICK) — have come under renewed scrutiny amid questions over project performance, procurement procedures, technical capacity and the administrative leadership of both programmes.
Documents and official correspondence reviewed for this report suggest that the combined financial obligations associated with the two programmes could ultimately leave Karachi’s citizens servicing debt estimated at around Rs950 billion over several decades, while the city continues to face chronic water shortages, an ageing sewerage system, deteriorating roads and inadequate urban infrastructure.
The controversy has intensified around the appointment and performance of KWSSIP Project Director Ayesha Hameed, who has also previously headed CLICK. Questions have been raised in official correspondence over whether a project of the scale and technical complexity of KWSSIP should be led by an officer without an engineering background, particularly as the programme approaches major procurement packages linked to the expansion of Karachi’s water supply network.
The issue has assumed greater significance because the World Bank-backed programme is entering a critical procurement phase, with major contracts expected to be tendered for augmentation of the city’s water distribution network.
Questions over project leadership
According to government correspondence and records cited by officials familiar with the matter, the Sindh government had considered removing Ms Hameed from the position of KWSSIP project director following concerns raised by the Planning and Development Department. Despite the reported approval of a summary concerning her removal, she has continued to head the project and procurement activities have proceeded.
The dispute has exposed a wider institutional question: whether the implementation structure has sufficient engineering, procurement and project-management expertise to manage contracts involving billions of rupees.
Officials and technical personnel have argued that a programme dealing with bulk water transmission, distribution networks, sewerage infrastructure and associated civil works requires experienced water-sector engineers in key decision-making positions.
The disagreement is particularly sensitive because KWSSIP is moving towards procurement of major packages associated with the expansion of Karachi’s water supply system.
Finance Department raises concerns
A note reportedly signed by Finance Secretary Fayyaz Ahmed Jatoi on June 24, 2026, is understood to have expressed serious reservations about the performance of the project and the administrative arrangements surrounding it.
According to officials familiar with the note, the Finance Department questioned the performance of the project and opposed proposals to rely on the existing CLICK team for future World Bank-financed programmes.
The following day, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah reportedly endorsed the Finance Department’s concerns, observing that the physical progress visible on the ground did not appear commensurate with the expenditure involved.
The Chief Secretary also advised the Planning and Development and Local Government departments against assigning the same team to the forthcoming World Bank project, according to the correspondence cited by officials.
These observations, if borne out by the official record, raise questions not only about individual appointments but also about the institutional arrangements through which major externally financed projects are being implemented.
Procurement process under scrutiny
Procurement procedures under KWSSIP-II have emerged as another contentious issue.
Project documents reportedly propose a 50:50 weighting between technical and financial criteria for certain civil works, including pipeline-laying contracts.
Some technical officials have questioned whether such a high technical weighting is justified for standard civil works that have previously been executed in Karachi under schemes such as K-I, K-II, K-III and K-IV.
Their concern is that excessive technical weighting could reduce meaningful price competition and create room for bids carrying higher risk premiums. They argue that, once minimum technical qualifications have been established, routine civil works should place greater emphasis on competitive financial pricing.
However, procurement criteria for World Bank-funded projects are governed by agreed procurement frameworks, and any departure from those requirements requires appropriate approval. The issue therefore goes beyond a simple dispute over technical and financial scoring.
A memorandum issued by the Sindh Planning and Development Department on Aug 13, 2026, reportedly instructed foreign-funded projects not to adopt arbitrary procurement criteria or disproportionate technical and financial weightings without approval from the relevant steering committee and the World Bank.
The memorandum warned that inappropriate procurement criteria could increase risk premiums and ultimately impose additional costs on the public exchequer.
Bulk meters controversy
Procurement of bulk water meters has also become a contentious issue.
According to officials familiar with the matter, four procurement officials were removed or lost their positions following controversy surrounding the procurement process.
The World Bank is also understood to have been directly involved in the procurement process from companies in connection with bulk meters.
Yet officials question why, after several years of project implementation, significant installation work remains incomplete.
The issue has become particularly important because accurate bulk metering is fundamental to measuring water production, transmission and distribution, reducing non-revenue water and improving the financial management of a utility.
Without comprehensive metering, billions spent on improving water infrastructure may fail to produce the intended improvement in accountability and efficiency.
Vehicles, machinery and maintenance
Questions have also been raised over procurement arrangements for vehicles and machinery.
Officials point out that major equipment purchases normally require appropriate maintenance and after-sales support arrangements, commonly covering one to three years depending on the equipment and procurement package.
Concerns have reportedly emerged over whether the maintenance arrangements associated with certain procurements provide adequate protection for the project and the public investment.
The central issue, according to officials familiar with the programme, is not simply who occupies the project director’s office but whether the implementation mechanism has the technical capacity, procurement safeguards and institutional independence necessary to manage large infrastructure contracts.
CLICK experience under renewed scrutiny
The controversy surrounding KWSSIP has also revived questions about the performance of CLICK, where Ms Hameed previously served as project director.
Official summaries submitted to the Sindh government indicate that CLICK did not complete its programme within the original 60-month implementation period, which was scheduled to end in June 2024.
The project timeline was subsequently extended to May 2026, while officials say 16 major schemes remained incomplete.
The performance of CLICK is therefore likely to form an important part of the debate over whether the same administrative structure should be entrusted with future World Bank-financed urban infrastructure programmes.
The government faces a difficult choice. Replacing project leadership at a sensitive procurement stage could disrupt implementation, while retaining the existing arrangements could prolong disagreements with departments and officials demanding stronger technical oversight.
A much larger financial question
The debate is ultimately bigger than the fate of one project director.
Karachi is facing a persistent water deficit, an ageing distribution network and severe pressure on its existing supply system. KWSSIP is intended to address some of the structural problems that have constrained the city’s water and sewerage services for decades.
But the scale of the financial commitment means that delays, weak implementation or procurement disputes can have consequences extending well beyond bureaucratic disagreements.
The two World Bank-supported programmes, KWSSIP and CLICK, have already created substantial financial obligations. Estimates circulating within government quarters put the eventual burden associated with the two programmes at around Rs950 billion, with citizens potentially bearing repayment obligations over a period of up to 40 years.
The striking question is therefore whether Karachi will receive infrastructure commensurate with this enormous financial burden.
The city continues to experience water shortages despite successive investment programmes. Its sewerage infrastructure remains under severe stress, while roads, streets and other municipal infrastructure continue to deteriorate.
World Bank safeguards at stake
For the World Bank, the immediate issue is likely to be compliance with agreed procurement procedures and demonstrable implementation capacity.
World Bank financing is generally tied to established procurement and fiduciary safeguards designed to ensure competition, transparency, value for money and accountability.
Any prolonged disagreement over procurement criteria, project leadership or compliance could therefore affect not only individual contracts but also the credibility of the broader financing programme.
For Sindh, the challenge is equally significant.
The government must demonstrate that projects financed through borrowing can deliver measurable improvements in public services and that the institutional arrangements overseeing them are capable of protecting public funds.
As major KWSSIP tenders move towards the market, the coming weeks could determine whether the controversy is resolved through a change in project leadership, stronger procurement oversight or another round of administrative confrontation.
The stakes are considerable.
The immediate question is who should lead KWSSIP. The larger question is whether Karachi’s next major water-sector investment can be delivered on time, at a competitive cost and under an institutional framework capable of satisfying both the Sindh government and its international financing partners.
