A Senate committee has ordered an immediate halt to a major power sector procurement process and demanded comprehensive details on several federally and foreign-funded initiatives, citing significant concerns over delays, potential fund mismanagement, and a lack of transparency. The decisive action came during a heated session reviewing development schemes, including those in Multan, Sindh, and the power sector.
The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, led by Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro, convened at Parliament House on Wednesday to scrutinize multiple projects. The panel expressed serious reservations about the Multan Heritage project, a restoration initiative for the historic city core initially allocated Rs. 850 million in 2011. Senators questioned why a federally funded enterprise was transferred to the provincial level and raised alarms over a payment of Rs. 170 million to a single consultancy firm without adequate feasibility studies.
In response, the committee has given the Project Director a two-day deadline to furnish the Phase I feasibility report. The oversight body also requested a complete breakdown of all six components of the Multan scheme, demanding clarity on costs, fund utilization, and the extent of work completed to date.
The session also turned its attention to development initiatives in Sindh, including the Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) Project and the Sindh Barrages Improvement Project (SBIP). The senate body conveyed its displeasure with the Government of Sindh for failing to provide necessary briefing materials and has summoned key provincial secretaries to its next meeting.
For the SWAT Project, the committee highlighted discrepancies in identifying beneficiaries and called for full disclosure of consultant hiring practices, tendering processes, and technical bidding information. Regarding the SBIP, which involves upgrades to the Sukkur, Kotri, and Guddu Barrages, the panel noted significant delays. While the Project Director attributed the setbacks to COVID-related disruptions and assured no cost overruns, the committee mandated the submission of detailed timelines, expenditures, and year-wise progress reports within three days.
The most forceful directive was aimed at the power sector, where the panel reviewed irregularities in a LESCO procurement and the recovery of Rs. 1.282 billion for the 765kV Grid Station Islamabad West. The committee instructed the Power Division to suspend the procurement and directed the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to formally communicate the identified irregularities to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.
Concluding the session, Senator Abro asserted that transparency, accountability, and sound financial management are the committee’s highest priorities. He instructed the EAD to establish a more robust check-and-balance mechanism to ensure proper oversight and compliance for all foreign-funded projects.