Pakistan faces an acute water crisis that continues to deepen due to prolonged neglect of small and medium-sized dam projects.

Fifteen years after their launch, eleven out of twelve multipurpose dams across all four provinces remain incomplete—despite billions of rupees already spent. This long delay is costing the national economy heavily each year, while both federal and provincial governments remain largely indifferent.

At a time of growing water scarcity and looming food insecurity, Pakistan has lost the capacity to cumulatively store about 3.20 million acre-feet (MAF) of water annually. Had these small dam projects been completed, they could have irrigated over 0.38 million acres of additional land. Originally scheduled for completion within three to four years, these projects have been left to decay, depriving the country of vital water resources.

Project financing

The twelve projects were approved during 2009–2010 as multipurpose reservoirs in remote areas with favourable topography and rainfall patterns. The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) cleared these schemes at a total cost of around one billion US dollars. China had pledged $700 million in soft-term loans through the China Eximbank, covering 70 percent of the total cost, while Pakistan was to contribute $300 million in local currency.

Fifteen years later, however, only one dam—Darawat—has been completed and that too at thrice its original cost. Several projects never even broke ground despite tenders being issued during 2009–2010. Pakistan has already spent over Rs 69 billion on........

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