MOTIVATION LETTER

In Pakistan 54 percent of the population lacks access to clean drinking water. My family owned business,
where I have managed installation of water-filtration plants (components- sand, activated carbon,
chlorination and ultraviolet lamp) in more than 25 cities has provided me an insight that this process is
not only expensive but also available to the privileged and even mediocre families are denied of this
need. Resultantly outbreak of waterborne diseases, epidemics etc. are pretty common. Two family
members were the victims which inculcated a desire to study water supply and treatment subjects.
Currently failure of the solitary Clean drinking water project worth $100 million undertaken by the
government has added fuel to the fire to my ambitions. Major obvious cause of the failure can be
attributed to non-availability of the experts in the field. It will not be out of place to mention that Water
supply Engineering is not taught anywhere in Pakistan and we seek help of foreign consultancies to
design our water projects. In my current work assignment i.e. Karachi water supply scheme worth $3
billion dollars which is an EPC project, Frontier Works Organization (FWO-my current work place)
which is the premium Civil Engineering firm of Pakistan has engaged a foreign design consultant for
vetting employers requirement and afterwards carrying out detailed designing. I analyzed the received
design and pointed out various loopholes. The major being lack of incorporation of local available
resources. The design proposes massive pumping and filtration equipment that is not at present being
manufactured in Pakistan which has made the project extremely expensive for a developing country like
ours. In case the designing had been done by a native expert the locally available resources would have
been relied upon more than the imported ones. FWO is the contractor representing Pakistan in China
Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC) that is worth $51 billion dollars out of which $14 billion have been
ear marked for water projects. It can be appreciated that economical use of allocated amount would only
be possible through the services of local experts. Accordingly I was in search of a university that offers
the related subjects. The curriculum of your program in Urban Water and Sanitation with specialization
in Water Supply Engineering is in lines with the needs of my country. My research direction is always
towards practical issues. In my undergrad I worked on a failed slope that was damaging houses worth
millions of rupees. I put forward a reliable and economical solution for which I was nominated for Gold
medal, received letter of appreciation, cash prize and a best poster award at a conference. Furthermore I
have 3 conference and 1 journal publication. Generally the advance technology followed in developing
counties take almost half to a decade before they find their way into under developed countries. My
academia as well as practical study of latest technologies at UNESCO IHE would go a long way in
benefitting my current work organization and my country at large.

What is the issue or problem you want to address in your country? (50-1000
characters)
Only 56 percent of the population of Pakistan has access to clean drinking water.
Province of Baluchistan which constitutes two third of area has centuries old water
supply system. It depends upon filling of pits by means of water flowing under
natural gradient or slopes from surrounding mountain ridges. Due to population
explosion this system has already been damaged and can no longer serve the
purpose. Water borne diseases are common which not only strain the already weak
economy of Pakistan by an annual loss of $1.3 billion but diarrhea alone causes a
death of 200,000 children yearly. Water and sanitation projects however constitute
only 0.2% of the GDP. The situation is pretty adverse and requires experts in the
field of water supply immediately who can forecast the demand and plan new water
supply schemes accordingly while co-opting useful portion of the old system
wherever found feasible. This issue can be addressed effectively by the course
contents of UNESCO IHE.
How will this course enable you to address this issue? (50-1000 characters)\

Correlating the curriculum at UNESCO IHE with the problems faced by Pakistan, it
appears that this syllabus has been chalked out for our country. Hydrology, Water
supply and Water Demand management and GIS can help me out in planning
sustainable water supply projects for various cities of Baluchistan. Also the major
portion of the province has brackish water and for drinking portable water the
inhabitants are compelled to traverse long distances. Advance water treatment
and reuse will enlighten the ways to treat brackish water using reverse osmosis
system (RO), a problem will be addressed that has not been catered for since
independence of country. Emphasis on water filtration techniques are of immense
interest to me since the only Clean drinking water project initiated by the
government worth millions of dollars has failed miserably due to the lack of experts.
My current workplace is already engaged in such developmental projects all over
the country hence my goals will be easily attainable.

Having over 75 water filtration plants installed in my family owned business,

Frontier Works Organization (FWO). FWO is executing EPC projects of national
interest like Karachi Water supply ($145 million) and Irrigation and water supply
($175 Million) and many others are in the pipeline that will be finalized by the time I
return. Hence I can immediately start implementing my knowledge gained from
UNESCO IHE to Pakistan.

How will you address this issue with your position within your organisation? (50-
1000 characters)
I am currently serving the largest infrastructure organization of Pakistan Frontier
Works Organziation (FWO) as Assistant Manager (Technical). FWO is the
representative contractor of China Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC) that is going
to link Pakistan and China through an investment of $51 billion in our country.
According to Indus water treaty, out of 5 rivers flowing in Pakistan, only Indus is
under our control while rest are under the influence of our neighbor India. With the
rising tensions between the two countries, Pakistan may face acute shortage of
water which has also been predicted by Pakistan Council of Research in Water
resources. To address this immense issue Pakistans water security is now a part of
CPEC and many water projects like Diamer Basha Dam ($14 billion) will be
constructed by my current work place. Diamer Basha will provide 4500 MW of
electricity and water storage of 8,500,000 acre feet (10.5 km 3) that will be supplied
for drinking and irrigation. The project estimated start date is in the year 2020.
When I will return to my current workplace it will be in its planning phase. Since I
am dealing with the planning, contracts and technical aspects of newly conceived
projects this job will fall under my portfolio. Here I can apply the knowledge gained
at UNESCO-IHE immediately.

Pakistan needs dams immediately for which we are fully equipped with expert Civil
Engineers. However the area of water supply engineering is neglected in our
curriculum. Civil Engineers are the core essence of water supply projects and if they
have in depth knowledge of its master planning their filtration and distribution in
the network, they can become not only an asset to their organization but to the
country as well as we require many such . Many such projects have been initiated
under China Pakistan Economic corridor (CPEC- $51 billion project). Pakistans water
security is one of the agenda of CPEC for which Diamer Bhasha dam ($14 billion)
will be constructed by my current work place i.e. Frontier Works Organization (FWO)
. Since I am already dealing with water supply projects over here I will be handed
over the task to manage the planning of water supply from the above mentioned
reservoir. The dam will provide 4500 MW of electricity and water storage of
8,500,000 acre feet (10.5 km3) that will be supplied for drinking and irrigation. The
project estimated start date is in the year 2020. Upon my return I can start working
on this project immediately. I will start transferring the knowledge gained at
UNESCO IHE to my colleagues and bring them at par to the