In urban areas of Pakistan, population growth and other factors have led to problems such as the deterioration of the urban environment and the decline in the level of social services, including water supply and sewerage. The city of Faisalabad in Punjab Province is one of the cities in the province with particularly great needs for improvement in the water supply sector, but the Faisalabad Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA-F) faces many technical and financial challenges and is unable to provide adequate water supply services in response to urbanization. This, coupled with residents’ dissatisfaction and lack of awareness of paying the price, has resulted in many unpaid water bills. As a result, budgets for capital investment are inadequate, further reducing water supply services and preventing revenue growth, creating a vicious cycle. In response, the Japanese government, through its support for the preparation of the Master Plan for Water Supply, Sewerage, and Drainage, has proposed the improvement of water supply services through the block system of water distribution and the improvement of the water supply rate system, including the shift to a metered rate system, and has demonstrated the contents of these proposals through pilot activities. However, WASA-F has not yet gained enough experience in blocked water distribution and meter reading, and has not yet been able to plan and implement blocked water distribution and transition to a metered rate system on its own. In addition, WASA-F has been dependent on state subsidies and has not been able to adequately prepare the financial statements and business plans necessary for self-sustaining management.
This cooperation will strengthen WASA-F’s capacity to improve its water supply services, business operation efficiency, customer relations operations, and financial and business planning, thereby contributing to the improvement of WASA-F’s water supply business management.
© Source JICA