Pakistan intends to improve its water-use efficiency from 40 percent to 70 percent as part of a national strategy. The country plans to increase water availability at farm gates to 79 million acre-feet (MAF) by 2029, up from the current 58.3 MAF.
A Planning Commission report estimates that the federal government requires $18 billion in financing over the next decade to develop strategic water infrastructure. The same report sets a goal to expand water storage capacity from 15.318 MAF to 23.54 MAF by 2029.
Current live storage accounts for only 11 percent of the annual flows of the Indus River. Projects currently underway in the Public Sector Development Programme are expected to contribute 9.821 MAF of storage.
Additional capacity of approximately 14.5 MAF could be provided by proposed projects, including the Skardu Dam, Shyok Dam, and Akhori Off-Channel Storage Dam. Agriculture consumes roughly 95 percent of the freshwater withdrawals in Pakistan.
About 20.58 million acres of land suitable for farming currently sit outside formal irrigation networks. Groundwater levels in Punjab are dropping by 0.5 to one metre every year.
Data shows that 53 percent of monitored urban water sources are unsafe for human consumption.
