ISLAMABAD: The National Transmission and Dispatch Company Limited (NTDC) on Wednesday admitted delay in implementing power distribution and transmission enhancement investment programme, financed by multilateral development and bilateral partners, on account of land acquisition and delays in procurement, which were resulting in cost escalation and commitment charges.
The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs met with Saifullah Abro in the chair, here on Wednesday, which reviewed power sector projects, highlighted delays and called for increased transparency in NTDC operations.
The Economic Affairs Division (EAD) special secretary gave briefing regarding all ongoing and completed projects related to the power sector under multilateral, bilateral partners and UN agencies including proposal, tendering process along with consultant and up to date progress, interest paid by federal government /departments and any other related information from 2002 till date, and complaints received during the tendering process of all ongoing and completed projects of power sector under multilateral, bilateral partners and UN agencies.
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The committee deliberated on all the ongoing and completed projects regarding the Power Division under multilateral and bilateral partners, along with the details of the tendering process, consultants, and the interest paid by the federal government on these projects.
Officials informed that a total of 16 projects are ongoing under multilateral development partners, of which, eight projects are with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), seven with the World Bank, and one with the Islamic Development Bank and OPEC Fund.
The committee was informed that16 projects of power sector with assistance of multilateral development partners are ongoing with a total commitment of $4.350 billion, where $1.868 billion were disbursed.
The special secretary informed the committee that 27 projects of power sector financed by multilateral development patterns were completed with a disbursement of $4.253 billion against the commitment of $4.576 billion.
Additionally, 16 projects have been completed with bilateral development partners. Among these, six were with Japan, four with Korea, one with Germany, and five with France. The total commitment for these bilateral development projects was $629.07 million.
The committee expressed serious reversions over delay in implementation of power automatic system, saying multilateral provided required financial assistance, but the project was not implemented on time.
With the completion of the project, the fear of system breakdown could be overcome, said committee chairman, adding that the country was getting foreign loans, still projects were deliberately delayed.
The committee asked for complete details of tendering process, consultants as well as reasons behind delay in power transmission and distribution projects.
Discussing the projects under the ADB, Senator Abro inquired about the delay in completion of the “Second Power Transmission Enhancement Investment Program Tranche 2”, which includes the construction of substations in MirpurKhas and Zhob.
The project was executed by the NTDC.
Initially, the project was set to complete on 31 December 2024; however, it will now be completed in August 2025. Officials apprised that the project was delayed due to Covid-19, delays in the issuance of LCs, and changes in design in the later stages. The committee recommended that comprehensive details of the delay should be provided in the next meeting.
The committee expressed dissatisfaction with the details and recommended that the tendering details of all the completed and ongoing projects executed by the said agency be provided.
Senator Abro argued that the majority of NTDC projects have been delayed by a year or more, costing millions to the Government.
Alamzeb Khan, additional secretary for the Power Division, stated that the ministry has constituted a “Monitoring and Implementation Wing” to oversee the progress of these projects, along with the monthly reports. Additionally, the ministry intends to restructure NTDC to bring transparency and efficiency to its work.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024