Pakistan is set to receive a much-needed injection of infrastructure cash, as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and World Bank look to co-finance a project to raise the Karachi Water Supply Board's (KWSB) operational capacity to deliver a safe and reliable water service.

According to local press reports, the AIIB approves the basic concept of the Karachi Water and Sewerage Services Improvement project, and its Executive Board is expected to agree to a $160 million loan.

The World Bank will be the lead financer, with the injection of US$160 million, while the Sindh government will contribute $80 million for the project.

The US$400 million project will help restore KWSB's operations to financial stability and establish an enabling environment for future private sector investments in water supply and waste water treatment.

Karachi is growing fast, and the city's infrastructure and basic municipal services, including water and sanitation, are unable to keep up with the rapid expansion of the city.

An important component of the project will be to increase the capacity of the sewage system. This will be done by constructing a 180 million gallons per day wastewater collection and treatment infrastructure in the Malir river basin as part of the Greater Karachi Sewerage project.