LCCI advocates construction of dams, reservoirs for economic growth

LAHORE: President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mian Abuzar Shad has said that the economic growth of the country is directly linked with effective water management and the construction of both large and small dams, along with reservoirs to store flood and rainwater.

In a statement, LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad, Senior Vice President Engineer Khalid Usman and Vice President Shahid Nazir Chaudhry said that lack of sufficient reservoirs and a rapidly decreasing storage capacity have left the nation unable to fully meet its agricultural, energy and domestic needs. Simultaneously, the country suffers devastating consequences during the monsoon season when unchecked water flows turn into destructive floods, ultimately wasting billions of cubic meters of precious water into the sea.

They pointed out that in 1947, Pakistan had a per capita water availability of nearly 5,600 cubic meters but this has now alarmingly dropped to just 900 cubic meters. According to international standards, any country where water availability falls below 1,000 cubic meters per person is considered water scarce. Unfortunately, Pakistan has not only crossed this critical threshold but has gone even further down, signaling a water crisis of unprecedented proportions.

The LCCI office-bearers said that during the monsoon, Pakistan receives an abundance of water but due to the shortage of major dams and, more importantly, the absence of reservoirs in flood-prone and rain-fed regions, this water becomes a destructive force. It floods towns and villages, destroys infrastructure, wipes out farmlands and eventually drains into the Arabian Sea, causing dual losses, economic destruction from floods and the wastage of resources worth billions of dollars as being witnessed in KPK. They cited a conservative estimate that nearly USD 12 billion worth of water is wasted annually. If this water were stored, Pakistan’s agricultural productivity could increase many times, its hydropower capacity could expand and drinking water shortages could be addressed effectively.

The LCCI president, along with the senior vice president and vice president, highlighted that only the devastating floods of 2022 alone inflicted losses exceeding USD 30 billion on Pakistan. Millions of homes were destroyed, infrastructure collapsed and over 33 million people were displaced. Among the hardest-hit regions was Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where districts such as Swat, Dir, Chitral, Nowshera and Dera Ismail Khan were left in ruins. Thousands of houses, schools, bridges, roads and fertile lands were washed away. Farmers suffered irreparable damage as livestock and standing crops were destroyed, pushing already vulnerable communities into further poverty.

They regretted that despite such a catastrophic disaster, lessons were not learned and once again Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is facing historic tragedies of flooding and destruction. They stressed that timely construction of small dams and water reservoirs in these regions could have significantly reduced the scale of devastation and safeguarded both human lives and infrastructure.

The LCCI leadership urged the government to realize the gravity of the situation and to immediately initiate practical steps to protect Pakistan’s future. They proposed that large dams could be built through public-private partnerships, ensuring resource mobilization without further burdening the national exchequer. In parallel, the construction of small dams and reservoirs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other provinces must be started without delay.

Mian Abuzar Shad said that the water crisis is no longer an issue of the future but of the present. He warned that if decisive measures are not taken now, in the coming years water scarcity will become the single biggest threat to Pakistan’s economy, even greater than energy shortages or fiscal instability.

The LCCI office-bearers further highlighted that the business community is ready to extend full support to the government in addressing this issue. They maintained that if the government, business sector and civil society collectively devise a comprehensive water management strategy, Pakistan can not only overcome water scarcity and flood destruction but also achieve long-term agricultural sustainability, energy security and food self-sufficiency.

They concluded that securing water resources is directly linked with national survival. Immediate investments in dams, reservoirs and modern water management systems are not an option but a necessity if Pakistan is to avoid an impending water catastrophe.