Led by COMSATS Centre of Excellence in Pakistan, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), in collaboration with the Centre in Egypt, National Research Center (NRC), and Imo State University, Nigeria, a joint research project has won grant under D-8 Project Support Fund with facilitation of COMSATS Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan.

COMSATS Secretariat facilitates the research and development collaborations among its Centres of Excellence in order to enable them to collectively address the common challenges being faced by their respective countries, in particular, and COMSATS’ member countries, in general.

Dr. Toqeer Ahmad, Assistant Professor at Centre for Climate Research and Development (CCRD), CUI, Pakistan, is overseeing this project entitled “Feasibility Study for Provision of Safe Drinking Water through Water Conservation (SDWC)”. The project aims at carrying out the feasibility study for provision of 24/7 municipal drinking water supply to the inhabitants of the I-8 Sector, Islamabad, Pakistan as a model. The subject feasibility study will digitize the existing water supply distribution network of the I-8 sector using GIS technology, cost-benefit analysis for implementation of water metering and pricing in addition to the provision of safe drinking water as a model in the study area.

The project that will run for one year is expected to have great impact on provision of safe drinking water through water conservation. Likewise, GIS mapping of water supply in the area is expected to provide clear idea for safe drinking water provision. Egypt and Nigeria will also benefit by implementation of the same project/study to conserve water by using available recourses. Further under this project, awareness sessions on water conservation will also be held for local communities.