ISLAMABAD: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) smells rat in the award of contracts of eight toll plazas by the National Highway Authority (NHA), valued at over Rs500 million, it has been reliably learnt.

To investigate the matter, the bureau has asked the NHA to furnish details about the toll plazas by July 15. Sources said that in the next stage of the probe, investigators would summon officials concerned to record their statements.

According to them, the public procurement rules and the bidding and evaluation criteria of the NHA were ignored during the process of awarding the contract.

The contracts for the toll plazas on the national highways were awarded last year.

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“The investigation has been initiated under Section 33C of the NAB Ordinance on a complaint received from inside the NHA,” said an official.

The bureau’s awareness and prevention wing has written a letter to the NHA chairman, asking him to submit documents required for the investigation.

Despite attempts no NHA officials could be contacted for comments.

The accountability watchdog had probed into a similar case of 2012 in which NHA officials were accused of misuse of authority and violation of the public procurement rules during the process of awarding contracts for five toll plazas.

The investigation had ended on a NAB directive to the authority to cancel the contracts and invite tenders for them again. The directive was implemented.

Published in Dawn, July 9th, 2014