Neelum Jehlum Project: Senators grill officials over irregularity

Warn contract will be cancelled if the project is not completed by 2015.

ISLAMABAD:

Noticing irregularities in award of a contract, a senate panel on Thursday directed ministry of water and power to put on hold a multibillion-rupee transmission system for Neelum Jehlum Hydro-Power Project (NJHPP).

However, Secretary Water and Power, Saifullah Chattha refused to stop work on the project. “The work will continue and the project will be completed by December 2015,” he asserted.

Senate Standing Committee on Water and Power – chaired by Senator Zahid Khan – expressed annoyance over award of NJHPP transmission contract to a Chinese firm in gross violation of rules.  “The project was awarded to the firm which was the only bidder in the bidding process against the PPRA rules,” the committee noted.

The committee, alleging that corruption amounting to Rs10 billion was involved in the transmission system contract, and warned that it would be cancelled if the project was not completed till 2015.

It said National Transmission and Dispatch Company (NTDC) had made criminal negligence by not providing the record of the project. It also demanded action against the NTDC officials involved.

The committee said initial cost of the project was estimated at Rs11 billion, which had escalated to Rs28 billion. “This is very unfortunate and an injustice with the poor people of our country,” the committee said.



However, the officials told the committee that the project had been launched in hurry as there was no firm commitment to its financing.

“Ministry of Water And Power gave verbal assurance to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) regarding its commitment to financing the NJHPP,” Planning Commission’s Farkhand Iqbal said.

The committee was also informed that the government had decided to privatise two distribution and two generation companies.

“The Central Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) has approved privatisation of two Fescos and Hescos and the two generation companies to be privatised are Muzaffarghar and Lakhra Gencos,” water and power secretary said.

The committee expressed annoyance at National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) for not presenting the break-up of the price of electricity producers. “We need to know the price at which the generation companies are selling electricity to the system,” Senator Zahid Khan said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 1^st, 2013.