Islamabad: The World Bank (WB) has proposed a USD 540 million rural water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) project for Sindh, including 300 million in WB financing and 150 million in cofinancing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), aimed at providing safe water and sanitation services to 1.5 million people across the province.

According to the WB's Project Information Document (PID), the Sindh Transformational Accelerated Rural Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene Services Phase 1 (STAR WASH 1) project will be appraised on September 28 and may be approved by November 25 this year.

The WB said the project would primarily use canal water and freshwater sources located near perennial canals, helping reduce pressure on groundwater resources. Reverse osmosis systems would be used only where necessary because of local water quality conditions.

The project will be implemented through the Sindh People’s Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF) and has an estimated total cost of USD 540.25 million, including 90 million in counterpart funding and a financing gap of 0.25 million.

The initiative comes amid major shortcomings in rural WASH services, particularly in Sindh, where only 29 percent of the rural population has access to safely managed water, compared with 48 percent in Punjab and 13 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the World Bank said.

Open defecation remains widespread in rural Sindh, affecting up to 45 percent of the population, while inadequate sanitation, unsafe sludge disposal and contaminated water contribute to diarrhoea, environmental enteric dysfunction and child stunting.

The project is also being framed as part of broader efforts to address Sindh’s serious human capital challenges. The WB said two out of every three children under five in rural Sindh are stunted, the highest rate in Pakistan.

Under STAR WASH 1, 1.5 million people are expected to gain access to basic water services, including 750,000 people receiving safely managed water. Another 1.5 million people are expected to gain access to safely managed sanitation services. The project also aims to reduce point-of-use water contamination by 50 percent and ensure that 80 percent of rural communities have access to a professional water and sanitation service provider.

The largest component, valued at USD 482 million, will support water supply, sanitation and hygiene services. It will finance multivillage and single village water supply schemes, sanitation systems, fecal sludge and wastewater management, drainage, household connections and solarisation.