ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs has sought investigations by the FIA and NAB into an alleged irregular release of around Rs5 billion in mobilisation advance by the National Highway Authority (NHA) and suspected irregularities in the type-testing process for the 765kV Dasu-Islamabad transmission line project.

The committee, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, expressed serious concern over procurement procedures, project delays, consultant selection and alleged violations of bidding requirements during a meeting held at Parliament House on Friday.

The committee was informed that NHA had released Rs5.199 billion to the contractor of Lot-III and around Rs4.2 billion for Lot-IV of the CAREC Tranche-III Rajanpur-DG Khan-DI Khan project on June 23 and 24, respectively.

According to the briefing, the contractor was entitled to 5 per cent of the mobilisation advance after submission of the required guarantee, while the remaining 5 per cent was to be released only after full mobilisation at the project site and issuance of the requisite certificate by the engineer.

The committee was informed that the contractor had not been fully mobilised when the payment was released. Taking serious notice, the committee observed that the full 10 per cent advance had been released within 24 hours.

The committee unanimously decided to refer the matter to the FIA and NAB for investigation and directed that responsibility be fixed against the officials who authorised the payment. It also ordered recovery of the alleged excess mobilisation advance of around Rs5 billion from the contractor.

The committee also expressed concern over alleged irregularities in the testing procedure for the 765kV Dasu-Islamabad transmission line.

It was informed that the 2019 testing policy contained a list of 40 STL laboratories, while eight laboratories were subsequently shown as having been added under the 2023 revised policy. However, the committee found that only three of the eight were actually new additions, while five were already included in the 2019 list.

The committee also questioned the inclusion of a laboratory in Rawat, which, according to the briefing, had no previous experience of testing transmission lines up to 200kV. Senators questioned how such a laboratory could undertake testing for a 765kV transmission line.

The committee accused representatives of the National Grid Company (NGC) of providing misleading information regarding the testing laboratories and took serious notice of the matter.

It also examined correspondence in which consultant GOPA Intec had directed that testing be conducted through a Chinese company instead of an STL laboratory specified under the relevant testing policies and bidding documents.

The committee observed that no Chinese laboratory had been specified in the 2019 or 2023 testing policies and directed NGC to take appropriate action against the consultant.

It further ordered NGC to provide copies of notices issued to the consultant and contractors, names of officials involved in preparation of the 2023 testing policy, date-wise details of payments and mobilisation advances, relevant correspondence and video evidence of meetings.

The committee unanimously decided to refer the alleged manipulation of the revised testing policy and possible violations of rules and bidding documents to FIA and NAB for investigation, including the roles of relevant NGC officials, the contractor and consultant.

Reviewing progress on the 765kV transmission line project, the committee was informed that eight of 88 towers requiring Forest NoCs had received payments and work had commenced on those towers. Ten towers under Lot-I had been completed, while four towers under Lot-II had been completed and 12 had been erected.

The committee directed that demand notices and the status of NoCs for the remaining towers be provided.

The committee also expressed concern over delays in foreign-funded projects in Punjab, including the Extension of Water Resources for Faisalabad City Phase-II, a 30-million-gallon-per-day scheme approved in 2019.

Officials told the committee that delays in foreign-funded projects had previously occurred due to the absence of a clearly defined policy framework. A government committee constituted by the prime minister to address the issue is reportedly finalising its recommendations.

The committee was also briefed on the Lahore Wastewater and Drainage Management Project and sought complete records of the procurement process after being informed that four financial bids had been received, with three disqualified on technical grounds.

It directed officials to submit all correspondence with participating companies and the complete procurement record within three days.

The committee also questioned the re-tendering process for consultancy services after learning that companies which had participated in the earlier process again took part, including a company that had initially been rejected but was subsequently selected. The matter was deferred for a detailed briefing, with the Punjab secretary and chairman of the Planning and Development Board directed to appear before the committee.

The committee also questioned the absence of the Secretary Ministry of Communications, Ali Sher Masud, from the briefing on the CAREC project and directed him to appear before the committee at the next meeting.

The committee stressed that foreign-funded projects must be implemented through transparent procurement, effective accountability and timely coordination among government departments, executing agencies and development partners.