17/10/2025
Gwadar Water Crisis: A Permanent Solution
By: Naeem Deedag
Gwadar — known as the Gateway to Asia — is surrounded on three sides by the blue waters of the Arabian Sea, yet its residents have been deprived of even a drop of clean water for years.
This city, once envisioned as a global trade hub, now depends on a few water tankers for its survival.
Emergency funds, temporary schemes, and short-term projects have been launched repeatedly, yet the crisis remains unresolved.
The reason is simple: we have never adopted a sustainable and scientific solution.
Gwadar’s current population is approximately 150,000, but with the expected increase over the next few years, planning should account for about 275,000 residents.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the minimum urban water requirement per person is 40 liters per day.
Based on this, Gwadar needs about 10,000 cubic meters (m³) of clean water daily.
This demand can easily be met through a seawater desalination plant.
Since the city is surrounded by the sea, Gwadar stands among coastal cities where desalination is the most natural and lasting solution — like Gaza, Perth, Barcelona, and Ashkelon.
Some Living Examples
Example: In the Gaza Strip, the United Nations has for years been providing drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people through Reverse Osmosis (RO) desalination plants.
Similarly, Israel’s Sorek Plant has transformed its water crisis into an economic opportunity, with a capacity of 624,000 m³/day.
In Spain’s city of Barcelona, Floating Desalination Units were made operational within just a few months, at a per-unit cost of around €1.25 million.
These examples show that desalination is not only possible but also practical and cost-effective — provided it is implemented with transparency, technology, and sound strategy.
Lessons from the Gulf
Nearly all Gulf countries — such as Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates — desalinate seawater daily for municipal use.
In Riyadh and Jeddah, the massive Shoaiba Desalination Plant supplies over 800,000 m³/day,
while Muscat’s Ghubrah Desalination Plant produces around 190,000 m³/day of potable water.
These projects clearly demonstrate that seawater desalination is not only feasible but also sustainable from both economic and environmental perspectives.
Given its geographical and environmental similarities, Gwadar can adopt and adapt these models to establish a long-term, self-sufficient system.
A Possible Strategy for Gwadar
Phase 1: Emergency Units (Mobile Desalination Units)
To provide immediate relief, 5–10 mobile plants, each with a capacity of 1,000 m³/day, can be installed in Gwadar.
Their total cost would range from USD 6.5 to 13 million — far less than the city’s current annual emergency expenses.
These units can later serve as support systems for a larger permanent plant.
Phase 2: Permanent Plant (Fixed SWRO System)
A 10,000 m³/day capacity plant can meet Gwadar’s water needs for the next decade.
Construction costs would range between USD 8–25 million, with annual operational expenses of USD 1.5–5.5 million.
Energy consumption is estimated at 25–35 MWh/day, which can be supplied from the port and airport’s existing power grid.
Recently, Gwadar MPA Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman proposed that water be permanently supplied to Gwadar from the Mirani Dam.
While well-intentioned, this proposal is not considered sustainable from a technical or environmental standpoint.
The Mirani Dam has already lost half of its storage capacity. Connecting it to Gwadar could make water supply uncertain and adversely affect nearby agricultural zones and underground water systems.
Thus, while it may provide temporary relief, a direct seawater desalination system remains the more effective and sustainable long-term solution.
A Practical Example from Gwadar Port
For instance, Gwadar Port’s daily report of October 16, 2025, shows that the port authority has the capacity to supply over 800,000 liters of water in a single day.
This data indicates that if such capacity were systematically linked to desalination infrastructure, not only could the city’s basic water needs be met, but large-scale self-sufficiency could also be achieved.
According to environmentalist Pazeer Ahmed from Gwadar, considering the water crisis and climate change, the port’s model should be expanded to nearby towns — Pasni, Ganz, Peshkan, and Sarbandan — by installing small-scale desalination plants.
These units would help ensure local water availability and lay the foundation for water self-reliance across the Makran coast.
Energy, Cost, and Realism
A common misconception about desalination plants is that they are excessively energy-intensive.
In reality, thanks to modern Energy Recovery Systems, energy consumption has dropped to only 2.5–3.5 kWh per cubic meter of water — less than what a typical industrial unit consumes.
Furthermore, integrating solar energy (Solar PV) with the desalination plant could reduce operational costs by 30–40% —
the same approach adopted by Australia’s Perth Desalination Project, which now sources half its energy from solar power.
If implemented transparently under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model,
this project could attract international funding, technical expertise, and monitoring mechanisms — the essential pillars of any sustainable initiative.
This model could serve as a guiding example not only for Gwadar but for the entire Makran region.
The plant’s establishment would create around 200 direct and 500 indirect jobs.
Reliable water supply would positively impact health, education, and the local economy.
Women and children would no longer spend hours collecting water, leading to an improved quality of life.
This is not merely an infrastructure project — it is a movement for social revival.
Conclusion: A City Turning Back to the Sea
Gwadar’s solution lies at its feet — in the sea.
All that is needed is a change of direction:
from temporary projects to sustainable, technological, and transparent strategies.
If the decision is made today, within three years Gwadar could become self-sufficient and serve as a model for other coastal cities in Pakistan.
Water is not just life — it is the foundation of development.
And the life of Gwadar is now tied to the sea.
