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Express Tribune
27-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Irregularities surface in key water project
The Punjab chief minister's inspection team has identified irregularities in the Asian Development Bank-funded Rawalpindi Water Supply Dream Project One, particularly in Lots 2 and 3, which have a contract value of Rs20.40 billion. In response, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz has instructed officials to complete documentation and refer the matter to the project's steering committee for a decision within three weeks. Additionally, the chief minister has directed that all foreign-funded projects undergo a review every three months. The chief secretary has been tasked with identifying responsible officers and taking necessary action against them. According to sources, the Chahan Dam Water Supply Project's Lot 2 and Lot 3, worth Rs20.40 billion, was initially awarded to the Turkish company Five H Insaat in a joint venture with the Pakistani firm Qasim & Co. However, contrary to the successful bidding process, the contract was exclusively awarded to the Turkish firm, prompting Qasim & Co to challenge the decision in court. Upon bringing the matter to the notice of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, she deemed the decision to be lacking transparency and ordered a fact-finding investigation by the chief minister's inspection team within seven days. The team, led by Chairman Salman Ejaz and members Ahsan Waheed and Ghulam Abbas Warraich, conducted an inquiry and confirmed irregularities in the contract award process. The findings revealed that due process was not followed, as the project's steering committee failed to conduct quarterly reviews, which is a requirement for foreign-funded initiatives. Now, the Planning & Development Wing Punjab will assess the matter under the steering committee's leadership and decide within three weeks whether to uphold or cancel the contract. If the awarded contract is revoked, a new bidding process will be initiated. It is noteworthy that Lot 1 of Dream Project Oneworth Rs. 6.36 billionwas awarded to China Construction Third Engineering in partnership with a Pakistani firm, aiming to supply 12 million gallons per day from Chahan Dam. Meanwhile, Lot 4, valued at Rs. 7.19 billion, was awarded to a joint venture of MS Miracon KBDL and Five H Insaat, focusing on upgrading filtration plants, pumping stations, and old water supply lines from Rawal and Khanpur Dams to ensure 24/7 water supply to the Khayaban-e-Sir Syed area.
Express Tribune
28-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Report on 'controversial' Rs20.4b water contract sought
The Punjab government has recently taken notice of the award of a Rs20.4 billion contract for Lot 2 and Lot 3 of the Chahan Dam Water Supply project to a Turkish company after terminating a partnership with a Pakistani company, seeking a report within a week. Up to 25 million gallons of water have to be provided from Chahan Dam and Rawal Dam to Rawalpindi daily under the Rs33.859b loan funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The contract was awarded solely to a Turkish company after terminating the partnership with the Pakistani company. The lack of transparency in the contract award and violation of laws and regulations have prompted the formation of a fact-finding committee, led by the Chairman of the Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT). The committee has begun reviewing the records at WASA Rawalpindi, and a report will be submitted to the Punjab chief minister after a week. The committee, under the leadership of CMIT Chairman Salman Ejaz, and members Ahsan Waheed (Member Four) and Ghulam Abbas Work (Member Engineering), is investigating the record at WASA Rawalpindi regarding the bidding process for the project. The bidding involved a joint venture between the Turkish company, 5H Insaat, and the Pakistani company, Qasim & Co. However, the contract for Lot 2 and Lot 3 was awarded solely to the Turkish company. According to the law, no foreign company is allowed to secure a contract without forming a joint venture with a Pakistani company. Sources say the contract for Lot 2 and Lot 3 was awarded seven months later, after the contracts for Lot 1 and Lot 4 had already been granted. In this context, WASA sought guidelines from the local government. A letter regarding the formation of the fact-finding committee was issued by Sajad Zafar Dal, the Principal Secretary to the Punjab CM. It is worth noting that the contracts for Lot 1 and Lot 4 had already been awarded. The contract for Lot 2, valued at Rs8.3b, and Lot 3, worth Rs12.1b, were granted to the Turkish company 5H Insaat. Work on Lot 1 and Lot 4 is already underway. For Lot 1, the contract for a 12 million-gallon-per-day water treatment plant at Chahan Dam, worth Rs6.36b, was awarded to China Construction Third Engineering Group (Penty V). Meanwhile, for Lot 4, which involves upgrading the filtration plant and pumping machinery at Rawal Dam and Khanpur Dam, as well as rehabilitating the old water lines, the contract worth Rs7.199b was awarded to a joint venture of 5H Insaat and MS Metra Khan BD Ltd. These two contracts are set to be completed within three years. For Lot 2, the contract for the installation of a main pipeline from Chahan Dam to Chak Jalal Din, worth Rs8.3b, and for Lot 3, the contract for laying the distribution network to supply water from Chahan Dam to the city's residents, worth Rs12.1b, have been awarded. The completion of these four contracts will significantly improve the water supply system in six union councils (UCs) along Adiala Road, as well as in the areas of Khayaban-e-Sirsyad and other parts of Rawalpindi city. It is important to note that this project, initiated with a loan of Rs33.859b from the ADB, has appointed Hamza Salik as the Project Director in Lahore and Zeeshan Shaukat Gondal as the Deputy Project Director at WASA Rawalpindi.
