The evaluation report of Diamir Basha Dam (RBD) is contrary to Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) and Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) rules as no consultant of international repute for design review of the dam has been appointed before awarding the contract.
Also the evaluated price of Rs 442 billion is about 52 percent higher than the PC-I value of Rs 290 billion. Evaluation of a single bid is also a violation of the open competitive bidding process.
In a letter written to the Director General PPRA, the Water Resource Development Company (WRDC) has pointed out that safety of the dam has been compromised and the recent tendency of awarding consultancy and construction contracts on the basis of single bid.
Convener WRDC Engineer Suleman Najib Khan has written another letter to the Federal Minister for Planning, Reforms & Initiatives Asad Umar, urging him to induct two top international consulting firms for the design review of DBD.
Talking to Business Recorder, Engineer Suleman said it is clear that Wapda has taken the decision of awarding the contract without review of its design by a consultant of international repute which is vital for the safety of the dam before awarding to a construction firm. He said he had earlier urged chairman Wapda through his letters of November 2018 and January 2020 that design review must be truly an in-depth and professional effort.
He said he had written to chairman Wapda in November 2018 that a project as high and technically complex as DBD in the hands of local consultants will be a suicidal for the project and the nation. The narrative that local consultants will supplement their expertise by hiring expatriate individual consultants is fraught with serious issues of liability.
He said neither of the local consultants has built even a 50m high RCC dam while the DBD is the most technically challenging engineering project ever conceived in Pakistan. Even China had to introduce foreign experts while building the Three Gorges Dam.
He further pointed out that the DBD design needs to be reviewed internationally due to its controversial height and RCC (Roller Compacted Concrete) concept. The original height of DBD was 660ft but it was increased in 2004.
He said former chairman Wapda Lt-General Dr Ghulam Safdar Butt had also pointed out that Diamir Basha was a dangerous area to build a dam as geology of the area has not been fully studied. Dr Butt had advised former chairman Wapda Tariq Hameed that main design of the dam must be done by a consultant other than the feasibility consultant.
Sources from Wapda, while requesting anonymity, said the contract for DBD was awarded through an open bidding and the only issue that could be raised relates to the cost escalation. However, they added, that Wapda would respond to PPRA in case it inquires about the complaint lodged before it by the complainant.
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