LAHORE: In a major push to tackle clean water shortages, the Punjab government is launching a project to filter and supply over 20 million gallons of daily drinking water from the Chahan and Khanpur dams to Rawalpindi, powered in part by new solar energy installations.
Punjab Local Government Minister Zeeshan Rafique disclosed this while chairing a meeting held on Wednesday to review various programs aimed at the development of Punjab’s cities.
The meeting was attended by Special Secretaries Shahid Zaman Lak, Syed Musa Raza, and Additional Secretary Mehreen Faheem Abbasi, while Umer Javed, CEO of the Punjab Intermediate Cities Improvement Investment Program (PICIIP), provided a briefing. The discussion also covered the Punjab Development Program (PDP) and the Punjab Cities Program (PCP).
On this occasion, the Minister said that Chahan Dam will supply 12 million gallons of clean water daily, while Khanpur Dam has the capacity to provide 8.6 million gallons. He emphasised the need to link this project with the waste-to-value programme, mentioning that solarisation will be implemented under packages one and two. “Package one will generate 12 MW, while package two will produce 7 MW of electricity,” he added.
Rafique stated that work is ongoing on schemes in 16 cities under PICIIP. He directed PICIIP to appoint NESPAK as a consultant, highlighting the positive results achieved in constructing underground water tanks under the Punjab Development Programme (PDP).
“The construction of tanks will commence in these 16 cities by the next monsoon,” he said. He stressed the importance of consulting with local elected representatives to understand the specific needs of each city.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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