ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has downgraded the performance rating of its USD 100 million Karachi Solid Waste Emergency and Efficiency Project, warning that persistent implementation delays, weak contract management and institutional capacity constraints have slowed progress on one of Pakistan’s most critical urban infrastructure initiatives.
Official documents revealed that the Bank revised both the project’s Progress towards Achievement of Develop-ment Objective (PDO) and Implementation Progress (IP) ratings downward—from “Satisfactory” to “Moderately Unsatisfactory” and from “Moderately Satisfactory” to “Moderately Unsatisfactory,” respectively.
The project, implemented by Sindh’s Local Government Department, aims to improve solid waste management services in Karachi after its original emergency objective of addressing flood and Covid-19 impacts was formally dropped during a restructuring approved in March 2025.
The report attributes the downgrade primarily to delays in constructing four waste transfer stations across Karachi and weaknesses in contract management. “Construction works on transfer stations at four locations in Karachi have experienced delays,” the report noted, adding that the Sharafi Goth transfer station is now expected to become operational only in August 2026. It stressed that the project “needs to improve contract management and avoid delays in the execution of civil works.”
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Despite the setbacks, the Bank acknowledged progress on the flagship sanitary landfill at Jam Chakro. Civil works for the first 25-acre landfill cell have been completed, creating disposal capacity of over 2.6 million tonnes, while sanitary disposal operations were expected to begin in June 2026. Construction of all five landfill cells is scheduled for completion by November 2026.
However, the delays have meant that none of the project’s principal development indicators have yet recorded measurable progress.
The documents show that zero residents have so far benefited from improved waste management services against a target of 500,000 beneficiaries by January 2027. Likewise, no legacy waste has yet been remediated against a target of 2 million metric tonnes, and no municipal waste is currently being disposed of through sanitary landfill despite a target of 7,000 tonnes per day.
The Bank expects these indicators to improve once landfill operations commence. According to the report, the new landfill will ultimately be capable of safely disposing of more than 8,000 metric tonnes of waste daily.
Institutional concerns also prompted the World Bank to raise the project’s Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability risk rating from Substantial to High, while the Fiduciary Risk rating was increased from Moderate to Substantial. The overall project risk, however, remains classified as Substantial.
On the financial side, the project has disbursed USD 69.36 million, representing nearly 69.4 percent of the total USD 100 million loan approved by the World Bank in December 2020. Some intermediate targets have shown encouraging progress.
The project has already trained 34 officials of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board in sanitary landfill operations, exceeding the target of 30. Additionally, 205 female informal waste workers have completed certified skills development programmes, moving close to the target of 250 beneficiaries.
The project is also expected to support climate goals through the closure of Karachi’s decades-old open dumpsites. Once fully operational, the new sanitary landfill system is projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, while the closure of the Jam Chakro dumpsite will include slope stabilisation, leachate management, gas collection and environmental safeguards.
Originally scheduled to close in June 2025, the project has already been extended and is now due for completion on January 15, 2027, giving authorities roughly six months to recover lost ground and achieve the project’s key development objectives.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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