Commuters using University Road in Karachi face more disruption, after another deadline slipped for the K-IV water augmentation work between Nipa Chowrangi and Hassan Square. The Karachi University Road project management has now set December 31, 2026, as the new completion date.
For five years, commuters on University Road have endured dug-up roads, traffic bottlenecks and repeated disruptions. The latest delay extends that ordeal, with one carriageway still unusable for traffic and routine travel turned into a daily struggle.
The 2.7-kilometre stretch was supposed to be completed in four months. Nearly a year after work began, the pipeline installation remains unfinished, raising questions about the pace of a much larger undertaking to lay 94 kilometres of pipelines across the city.
Karachi University Road: what is being built
Under the Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project, 96-inch and 72-inch pipelines are being laid between Nipa Chowrangi and Hassan Square. The work was originally scheduled for completion in February 2026 but has repeatedly missed deadlines.
The delay has added to the difficulties faced by commuters and businesses along University Road, where work on the Red Line bus rapid transit project has been under way since 2021. Two major projects now overlap on the same corridor, and road users pay the price in lost time.
The ongoing excavation has also disrupted existing water, sewerage and gas infrastructure on several occasions. Residents of Gulshan-e-Iqbal have faced recurring water supply problems as a result. Only last week, a 33-inch pipeline was damaged, leaving several localities without a fully restored water supply.
That pattern is familiar to University Road users. Feature Pakistan reported on earlier damage to a gas pipeline on the same road in Karachi Red Line Damage Gas Pipeline University Road. Each break adds a new repair to a corridor that is already dug up for two projects at once.
Why the work has slipped
Speaking to The Express Tribune, contractor Abdul Rehman said the work had been complicated by the presence of existing water and sewerage lines, as well as K-Electric and Sui Southern Gas Company infrastructure.
He said workers had to proceed cautiously to protect these utilities while installing the new pipelines. Around 40 feet of the 96-inch pipeline remained to be laid, he added, expressing hope that the work would be completed by the end of December or during the first week of January.
Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement Project Manager Faisal Javed acknowledged the delay but said work was progressing. He confirmed that the augmentation project between Nipa Chowrangi and Hassan Square would be completed by December 31, 2026.
Javed said a high-tension K-Electric line at one location had contributed to the delay. Excavation of around 100 feet would be required at the site, a process expected to take approximately 45 days because of the sensitive nature of the work. He added that the matter had been discussed with K-Electric.
The 45-day figure is the key number for commuters. It explains why a project with only 40 feet of large pipeline left still needs until the end of December. The sensitive excavation cannot be rushed, and the high-tension line sets the pace for the final stretch.
What will be handed over, and when
Javed said hydro-testing of the installed pipelines between Hassan Square and Baitul Mukarram Mosque had been completed successfully.
According to Javed, a 1.4-kilometre stretch between Hassan Square and Baitul Mukarram Mosque would be handed over for Red Line road construction in the first week of November. The remaining 1.3 kilometres would be handed over by December 31.
The staged handover matters for the Red Line. Feature Pakistan reported that Red Line Lot 2 has a completion target of June 2028 in Karachi Red Line BRT Lot 2 Completion June 2028.
Karachi’s wider bus network is also changing. The Green Line extension is covered in Karachi Green Line Extension FY27.
Sindh’s water pressures go beyond Karachi. Feature Pakistan reported on the province’s rainfall shortfall in Sindh Monsoon Rainfall Deficit 2026. The K-IV augmentation work is meant to strengthen supply in a province where water stress is a recurring theme.
