ISLAMABAD -UNS: The Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Senator Saifullah Abro, expressed strong displeasure over the role of National Engineering Services Pakistan (Pvt.) Limited (NESPAK) and National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) in awarding the bid to the third lowest. He remarked that it was a matter of great embarrassment that NESPAK, a national institution responsible for technical evaluations, failed to prevent such a decision. It was NESPAK’s responsibility to ensure proper verification, because NESPAK role is to scrutinize the document, he stated. Senator Abro highlighted that the contract is not awarded to the deserving by which the Rs. 500 million of the country could have saved.
Chairing a meeting, he noted that the company to which the project was awarded Newage, Lahore, lacked the relevant experience. Expressing serious concern that this type of negligence cannot be ignored.
Senator Abro stated that the matter will be pursued through the relevant forums like, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Public Accounts Committee (PAC), and the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to ensure that the public funds are recovered. He also recommended that strict action should also be taken against the involved officers.
Referring to legal inconsistencies, he questioned, If Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) laws are not applicable in the case of domestic preference, and how can a letter from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) be considered valid. He recalled that during the previous meeting, three written letters were presented by Mr. M. Ali, the Caretaker Minister, which further raised serious questions regarding the transparency of the process.
When the Committee sought further details, it was informed that all relevant data from the Engineering Development Board (EDB) had been destroyed in a fire, and only one verified letter was presented before the Committee. Senator Kamal Ali Agha inquired whether an inquiry was conducted following the fire incident. The concerned department stated that no inquiry had been carried out. Chairman Committee, recommended that a formal inquiry be conducted into the fire incident and that strict action be taken against those found responsible, including officers from the Power Division.
During the Committee meeting, a discussion was held regarding where the department conducts testing, which institutions are responsible, and where laboratories are located in Pakistan. The department informed the Committee that type testing is conducted internationally and not within Pakistan. It was further stated that the type test for the current year, 2024, was conducted in Hungary. The Chairman inquired about who the witness to the test. The department told that the witness was not verified. They also stated that, according to a 2023 policy, having a witness was not a mandatory requirement by the consultant.
However, after detailed discussion, it was revealed that no such policy had been formulated. The Chairman Committee strongly remarked that no valid testing had been conducted and an attempt was made to mislead the Committee, which amounted to fraud. The Chairman asked whether any recovery of the misused funds had been made, to which the department responded that a letter had been written to NTDC regarding the matter.The Chairman Committee recommended that all the involved companies be blacklisted, the misappropriated funds be recovered, and that the officers involved be terminated from service. Furthermore, he recommended that the recovered amount should be deducted from the salaries of the responsible officers.
The Committee also inquired about the report and minutes of the 282nd Board meeting, as well as the letter issued by the NTDC Board. It was noted that while the minutes of the Committee meeting were dated 24th December 2024, the Board was required to submit its report within 15 days. However, the BOD has submitted after 6 months. Meanwhile, the Committee remarked that the Board itself is violating its own letter and treating the amount of Rs. 1.28 billion as insignificant. The Chairman recommended that strict action be taken against the Board and that the amount be recovered within two weeks.
The Committee was briefed on the Sindh Solar Energy Project (SSEP). The Committee discussed the issue of encroached lands and expressed astonishment over the revelation that local residents were being paid to vacate the encroached government land. During the briefing on solar panels, it was revealed that the project is being funded through loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. While solar panels are available in the local market at approximately Rs. 27,000, the department was procuring them at Rs. 60,000.
Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro noted this as a serious violation and recommended that the matter be referred to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to examine discrepancies between the market rates and procurement costs. It was also revealed that NGOs were being selected without a proper tendering process.
Furthermore, the Chairman Committee proposed that make a team and sent them to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), then Sindh, and lastly to Punjab, as bidder and check the situation.
The meeting was attended by Senators Kamran Murtaza, Rahat Jamali, Falak Naz, Kamil Ali Agha and senior management from the Ministry/relevant departments.
