In November 2019, Samaa Digital reported that lawmakers of the PTI party had announced a seawater desalination plant near Sea View in Karachi. It was intended to provide drinking water to residents of the Defence and Clifton areas. According to MNA Aftab Siddiqui, the cost would exceed 7 billion rupees, and work was to begin in two months. At the same event, PTI politician Khurram Sher Zaman accused the Sindh provincial government of delaying development projects.
The report showed that desalination in Karachi had become a subject of political announcements; at the time only the intention was documented, with no contract or financing.