News Detail
Event Title: Senator Saifullah Abro, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House Islamabad.
Event Date: 2025-11-26
Lawmakers demand transparency from Secretary Irrigation Sindh on SWAT and foreign-funded funds, raise concerns over misuse in Multan heritage grant, and press for stopping LESCO’s STG procurement.
The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, met on Wednesday at Parliament House, Islamabad.
The meeting was attended by Senators Haji Hidayatullah Khan, Syed Waqar Mehdi, Rubina Khalid, Kamran Murtaza and Kamil Ali Agha, along with the Secretary, M/o Economic Affairs, Additional Secretary, M/o Energy (Power Division) and other officials.
At the outset the meeting, committee discussed the matter referred by the Chairman Senate regarding release of unspent funds for the renovation and restoration of the historic core of Multan city. Officials briefed that Rs. 850 million had been allocated for the project and released in 2011, which were to be utilised within Multan. A consultancy firm was awarded Rs 170 million for surveys and review studies.
Senator Rubina Khalid questioned how a federally funded project had been transferred to the provincial level. Senator Kamran Murtaza sought clarity on the authority under which the Management Committee made this decision, emphasising that federal cabinet approval is mandatory for the transfer of federal projects. The Economic Affairs Division (EAD) explained that Management Committee originally constituted in 2010 at the Prime Minister’s level and modified in 2015 at the provincial level.
Chairman Senator Abro questioned how a committee formed at the Prime Minister’s level could be shifted to the Chief Minister’s level, highlighting that while the government was the same until 2013, circumstances had changed thereafter. He also noted the absence of a feasibility report for the originally released Rs 850 million and stated that Rs 170 million had been paid to a single consultancy firm. The Committee asked the Project Director to share the feasibility report of Phase I. The Project Director informed the Committee that he had the report for Phase II instead of Phase I. The Committee took serious notice of the officer’s unpreparedness for the agenda item and directed him to provide a copy of the Phase I feasibility report to the Committee within two days.
The Committee further demanded a complete breakdown of the project’s six components and full site-wise details, estimated cost, utilization and percentage of work completed under the Multan heritage scheme, including explanations regarding transfers of funds to other projects.
Senator Kamil Ali Agha acknowledged that Committee included respected professionals, yet he expressed concern over the recurring delays despite experienced leadership. Senator Abro directed the EAD to provide detailed, site-wise expenditure records, emphasising the Committee’s right to account for funds released in 2011.
The Committee also received detailed briefings on ongoing and proposed development initiatives, including the Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) Project and the Sindh Barrages Improvement Project (SBIP), both supported by multilateral development partners. The Committee expressed displeasure over the non-provision of briefing material by the Government of Sindh. The Committee recommended that the EAD write a letter to the Chief Secretary of Sindh in this regard and also ensure the presence of Secretary, Irrigation Department and Secretary, Agriculture, Supply and Prices Department, Government of Sindh in the next meeting.
While discussing the SWAT Project, the Project Director informed the Committee that project consists of five components; however, disbursement has not yet been completed. The Committee was further informed that the revised PC-I is near finalization. In response to a query raised by the Committee, it was stated that a survey had been conducted by the project teams. However, Senator Rubina Khalid took serious notice and pointed out that BISP data had also been provided for the project. The beneficiaries identified through BISP data had received payments, while the other beneficiaries identified through surveys conducted by teams formed by the Agriculture, Supply & Prices Department, Government of Sindh were left out. After detailed deliberations, the Committee recommended that the EAD and the concerned department (Project Director, SWAT) provide details of the consultant hiring process, the tendering process, and the technical bidding data sheet to the Committee.
Furthermore, the committee also discussed the Sindh Barrages Improvement Project in detail. The Project Director, SBIP Project informed the Committee that the Sindh Barrages Improvement Project consists of five major components. In its first phase, the life of the Sukkur Barrage—constructed in 1932—is expected to be extended by 30 years. All canal gates linked to the barrage are being replaced, while longstanding structural issues persist and nine gates remain closed as water flows reach up to nine lakh cusecs.
A technical study on Kotri Barrage is currently underway. Officials further briefed that Guddu Barrage was merged into G2 in 2017 under the G1 component, effectively abolishing the original G1 component for Guddu. The revised completion year for the Guddu Barrage project is now 2027, compared to the initial target of 2022.
Senator Saifullah Abro expressed concern over the extended timeline, noting that the tender was issued in 2017 yet the project remains incomplete. He remarked that delays had led to increased financial implications. The Project Director clarified that Covid-related disruptions extended the project by nearly 1,000 days but assured the Committee that completion would not require additional charges. The Committee sought comprehensive details on all delays, revised timelines, expenditures, and year-wise progress, and directed the Project Director, SBIP, to provide this information to the Committee within three days.
The Committee also reviewed implementation of previous recommendations regarding multilateral-funded power sector projects. The Chairman committee noted that it was discussed previously that evaluation results on the procurement of STG Goods in LESCO ADB-I/G-001-LESCO-2024 (LoTs I to VIII) under the Asian Development Bank’s Power Distribution Strengthening Project had not been uploaded on the PPRA website, raising the question of how participants could know the basis on which they were declared non-responsive. This was identified as a serious violation of basic rules, as highlighted by the MD of PPRA during the last meeting. The Joint Secretary, Power Division also acknowledged these violations. The Committee recommended to halt the process. Furthermore, he asked an update on the recommendation of the committee concerning the recovery of recover Rs. 1.282 billion from the company for 765kV Grid Station at Islamabad West (Lot-IV), financed by the World Bank. The A.S, Power Division informed the committee that Power Division had conducted Special Audit of a project, and the matter will be referred to the Public Accounts Committee. The committee recommended that the Power Division share a copy of the audit report with the committee.
After the detailed debilitation, the Chairman Senator Saifullah Abro issued directions to the Power Division to halt the procurement process of the ADB Power Distribution Strengthening Project (Loan 4567-Pak). The committee directed EAD to write a letter to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank about the irregularities identified by the committee in these ongoing foreign funded projects in the power sector. The Chairman Committee emphasised that transparency, accountability and clear financial management remain the Committee’s foremost priorities. The Committee will ensure that EAD should establish the check and balance mechanism for foreign funded projects.