Another USC expansion project recommended

The Planning and Development (P&D) Division recommended yet another project of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) expansion that costs Rs 1.778 billion to Ecnec, despite the fact that ministry of industries and USC, which are the sponsoring and executing agencies, failed to submit completion or progress report of a previous project of almost the similar nature.
Sources told Business Recorder that P&D at a recent meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) recommended the Rs 1.778 billion project that envisages the establishment of 22 new warehouses and opening of 5,000 stores of the USC at the union council level.
The recommendation has been accorded to the new project despite the fact the ministry of industries and the USC failed to submit any report on their previous Rs 784 million project that envisaged the establishment of 16 warehouses and 44 stores of the USC at the district/tehsil headquarter level.
Sources said the previous project was approved by Ecnec in its meeting held in November 2006. For completion of the project, Rs 388 million was released.
Apart from this amount, a working capital of Rs 396 million was raised through bank loans. But the sponsors did not submit progress report nor completion report.
They said for the new project, in which the government wants to expand the USC up to the union council level across the country, the industries ministry and the USC had been asked to raise working capital of Rs 500 million through bank loans to meet the total financing of Rs 1.778 billion.
Sources said that Rs 200 million has already been released by the Finance Division and Rs 1.078 billion would be arranged through re-adjustment in the current fiscal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The demand of ministry of industries and the USC seeking total capital cost of Rs 1.778 billion has been rejected, they added.
The sponsors of the project had also been asked to provide details of the security plan along with costs finalised in consultation with Frontier Corps for security in Balochistan, the sources said, adding the security cost estimated by the sponsors is Rs 50 million in Balochistan.
According to the sources, there are general complaints regarding the quality of consumer goods being sold at the USC stores. While the USC is required to ensure the quality of goods, a fool-proof quality control mechanism needs to be evolved.
The sources said there are different proposals being discussed to ensure the quality of goods being sold at USC stores. The possibility of constituting consumer societies for effective feedback for the improvement in quality of goods on regular basis is being looked into.
Moreover, affixing date of manufacturing and date of expiry on the packs of consumer goods are also required to be introduced at all the USC stores, the sources added.