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ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs has sought investigations into alleged irregularities in foreign-funded projects, including an excess payment of about Rs5 billion in mobilisation advances by the National Highway Authority (NHA) under the CAREC Tranche III (Rajanpur-DG Khan-DI Khan) Project.
The Senate panel reviewed several foreign-funded projects, particularly water and wastewater schemes in Punjab, the 765kV Dasu-Islamabad Transmission Line Project and the Communications Sector CAREC Tranche III Project. It raised questions over prolonged delays, procurement procedures, consultant selection, project implementation and the availability of senior officials to brief the parliamentary forum.
The meeting, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, considered a detailed briefing by the Economic Affairs Division on ongoing and upcoming foreign-funded projects in Punjab being implemented by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) in collaboration with multilateral and bilateral development partners and UN agencies.
The committee was briefed on ongoing foreign-funded projects and examined the Extension of Water Resources for Faisalabad City Phase II, with a capacity of 30 million gallons per day (MGD). It was informed that the scheme had been approved in 2019.
During the discussion, the committee expressed concern over delays in foreign-funded development projects, observing that prolonged delays ultimately affect the public through delayed services, additional costs and extended completion periods. The Secretary of the Economic Affairs Division informed the committee that delays in foreign-funded projects in the past have not been governed by a clearly defined policy framework, resulting in lengthy procedural timelines.
The committee was surprised to learn that the same foreign companies had participated in the re-tendering process for the appointment of a consultant, and that a company initially rejected during the previous tendering process was subsequently selected in the re-tendering process.
The committee questioned the rationale for conducting the re-tendering process if the same company was ultimately to qualify and be selected. At the request of officials of the government of Punjab, who were also unable to adequately brief the committee on the matter, the issue was deferred for a detailed briefing. The committee directed that the concerned secretary, along with the chairman of the Planning and Development Board, Punjab, be called to provide further clarification.
The committee also reviewed the Lahore Wastewater and Drainage Management Project. During the briefing, it observed that details of the aligned process, which it considered an essential component of the project, have not been adequately provided.
The committee was informed that four financial bids have been received, of which three have been disqualified on grounds of technical incompetence. The chairman sought complete details of the procurement process, as officials were unable to provide the relevant record, including details of all four participating companies, in accordance with the agenda. He stressed the need for complete transparency throughout the process.
The committee directed that all correspondence with the participating companies, along with the complete record of the procurement process, be provided within three days.
The committee also raised a broader question regarding the geographical scope of WASA-related foreign-funded projects, asking whether such projects were confined to Punjab or whether similar interventions were being undertaken in other provinces. The chairman particularly highlighted the water-related challenges facing Balochistan and directed that, at the next meeting, the government of Balochistan provide a briefing on water-related projects, including relevant WASA schemes and interventions.
The committee also considered the implementation status of recommendations made during meetings held on August 24, September 4 and September 14, 2026, relating to the 765kV Dasu-Islamabad Transmission Line Project, Lots I to IV, particularly the type-testing procedure involving STL laboratories.
During the discussion, the committee sought details of action taken against consultants and contractors and reviewed progress on the transmission line project, including delays and measures taken against the contractor and consultant.
The committee was informed that, out of 88 towers requiring Forest NoCs, payments had been made for eight towers and work had commenced on them.While discussing the status of the remaining 80 towers requiring Forest and NHA NoCs, the committee was informed that 10 towers under Lot I had been completed, while four towers under Lot II had been completed and 12 towers had been erected to date.
The chairman directed that demand notices relating to the remaining 80 towers be provided to the committee. He also sought information on the status of NoCs for the remaining towers and raised questions about the steps being taken to remove outstanding implementation bottlenecks.
While discussing testing procedures being applied for the first time in Pakistan in connection with the 765kV transmission line, the committee was surprised to learn that the applicable testing policy of 2019 had subsequently been revised in 2023.
The committee was informed that the 2019 testing policy listed 40 STL laboratories, while eight additional laboratories were included in the 2023 policy. However, the committee found that, of the eight laboratories stated to have been added under the 2023 testing policy, only three were newly included, while the remaining five had already been listed in the 2019 policy.
The committee was also surprised to learn that three participating companies had included a local Pakistani laboratory based in Rawat which, according to information provided to the committee, had never conducted transmission-line testing up to 200kV.
The committee questioned how a laboratory with such limited testing experience could undertake testing for a 765kV transmission line, particularly when, according to the briefing, STL laboratories internationally were not equipped to conduct such testing.
The committee took notice of the matter and said representatives of NGC had provided misleading information regarding the testing laboratories.The committee also reviewed letters issued by the project director to contractors for Lots I and II regarding non-compliance with the requirement to conduct type testing through an STL laboratory. It also examined a letter issued by the consultant, M/s GOPA Intec, directing the department to have the testing conducted by a Chinese company instead of the STL laboratories specified in the initial and revised testing policies of 2019 and 2023.
The committee took notice of the matter and observed that no Chinese laboratory was specified in either of the policies. It said the consultant was required to ensure that testing was conducted in accordance with the bidding documents. The committee therefore directed NGC to take appropriate action against the consultant.
After detailed deliberations, the committee decided that NGC should provide copies of notices issued to the consultant and contractor, along with a list of officers involved in preparing the 2023 testing policy and the alleged manipulation of the contractor-related process.
The committee further directed NGC to provide date-wise details of payments made to the contractor, relevant correspondence, details of mobilisation payments and video evidence of meetings for its consideration. NGC was also directed to provide a list of officials of GOPA Intec stationed in Pakistan.
The committee decided to refer the matter to the FIA and NAB for investigation into the preparation and implementation of the revised 2023 testing policy and alleged violations of applicable rules and bidding documents, including the roles of NGC officials, the contractor and the consultant in the decision to use a Chinese laboratory.
The committee also considered pending payments to the executing agency of the 765kV Dasu-Islamabad Transmission Line Project, Lots I to IV. The agenda required detailed briefings from the secretaries of the Ministry of Finance and Revenue and the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives on issues relating to the release of pending payments to ensure timely completion of the project.
In the absence of the Secretary of Finance and Revenue and officials from the Finance Division, the committee decided to summon the secretary to its next meeting. It reiterated the importance of resolving outstanding financial and administrative issues at the earliest and directed the concerned authorities to take timely action.
The committee also considered the Communications Sector CAREC Tranche III (Rajanpur-DG Khan-DI Khan) Project, including its current implementation status, updated physical and financial progress, expenditure incurred, submitted bid securities, performance guarantees, mobilisation advance guarantees and implementation of recommendations made during previous meetings.
During the discussion, the committee was briefed that work on Lots I and II was pending, while work on Lots III and IV had commenced. It was further informed that mobilisation advances of Rs5.199 billion for Lot III and about Rs4.2 billion for Lot IV had been paid to the contractor on June 23 and June 24, 2026, respectively.
When asked whether the 10 per cent mobilisation advance had been paid in a single payment or in two instalments, the committee was informed that four cheques had been issued in two instalments for both lots, representing 10 per cent of the project value.
The committee observed that, under the applicable provisions, the contractor was entitled to receive 5.0 per cent of the mobilisation advance upon submission of the Mobilisation Advance Guarantee, while the remaining 5.0 per cent was to be released only upon full mobilisation at the project site.
The department further informed the committee that the contractor had not been fully mobilised at the site when the payment was released. The committee took notice of the apparent irregularity by the NHA in releasing the full 10 per cent mobilisation advance to the contractor within 24 hours. NHA officials, while reading out the relevant clause before the committee, also acknowledged that the remaining 5.0 per cent of the mobilisation advance was to be released upon full mobilisation of the contractor at the site and issuance of the requisite certificate by the engineer to the employer.
The committee decided to refer the matter to the FIA and NAB for investigation and directed that responsibility be fixed on the officer or officers responsible for authorising and releasing the payment to the contractor. It also directed the recovery of the excess mobilisation advance of about Rs5 billion from the contractor.
The committee questioned the absence of Secretary of the Ministry of Communications Ali Sher Masud from the briefing and sought an explanation for why the secretary was not available to personally brief the parliamentary forum on the matter.The committee maintained that the concerned secretary should appear before it and provide the required briefing.
