PESHAWAR: Despite the federal government funding, the two-year delay in solarisation project for the merged districts has raised questions about the performance of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
Around 130,000 households are still waiting, which clearly reflects the government mismanagement and slow progress.
In 2024, the federal government approved a project worth approximately Rs13.32 billion to provide solar systems to 130,000 homes in the merged districts and transferred the funds to the provincial government for this purpose. Under the project, the target was set to generate 93 megawatts of electricity, producing 172,852,392 kilowatt hours annually and providing affordable energy to thousands of households.
According to official records, on June 12, 2024, a committee headed by the finance minister was formed to oversee the project. On August 14, 2024, the then chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur officially announced and inaugurated the project. Later, on September 20, 2024, a technical committee was formed, and on September 25, 2024, the Bank of Khyber approved Rs20 billion for the southern districts of the province. A memorandum of understanding was signed between the Bank of Khyber and PEDO on November 8, 2024, while the technical committee was reconstituted on November 20, 2024. Subsequently, on December 12, 2024, an advertisement was issued for the pre-qualification of contractors, and on December 24, 2024, registration of beneficiaries began. The PC-I was submitted on January 13, 2025, and on January 22, 2025, it was approved for inclusion as a non-ADP scheme. Later, on March 6, 2025, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur also conducted an e-balloting process during a ceremony for the selection of beneficiaries and on March 7, 2025, a notification for pre-qualified contractors was issued. However, after this, the project faced further delays. The PC-I was deferred on April 21, 2025, the pre-qualification process was canceled on July 14, 2025 and a revision of the project’s specifications was initiated on August 15, 2025. Despite nearly two years having passed, not a single home has been provided with a solar system to date, raising serious questions about the provincial government’s performance. Despite nearly two years having passed, the PC-I has not yet been approved. In addition, some illegal management shifting is under way, which again puts the mega project’s integrity and transparency into question. Chief Minister Sohail Afridi told this correspondent that the solar project had been delayed due to certain technical issues. “I have been holding regular meetings on the project, including one held on Saturday specifically to review the matter. There were some technical complications, which have now been resolved,” he said.
He added that the government was committed to ensuring the successful implementation of the project, which aims to provide relief to thousands of households through affordable and sustainable energy.
“We will inaugurate the project very soon and people will get solar systems by June this year,” the chief minister said, expressing confidence that the initiative will help address energy shortages and benefit the public.
