ISLAMABAD: A subcommittee of the Senate Standing Committee on Com­mu­nications revealed on Thursday that the National Highway Authority (NHA) had violated the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) guidelines in several projects funded by the bank.

During a meeting of the subcommittee, it was disclosed that the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) had also issued a decision barring the NHA from awarding contracts for four lots of the Central Asia Regio­nal Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Tranche-III project to the same joint venture (JV) of three firms, due to the absence of essential documents required for the contract award.

The meeting, chaired by Senator Kamil Ali Agha, was attended by Senators Zamir Hussain Ghumro and Saifullah Abro. The subcommittee has been tasked with investigating the Tranche-III (Rajanpur-D.G. Khan-D.I. Khan) section of the CAREC project.

“ADB’s guidelines clearly state that all partner companies in any JV must have work experience equal to 25 per cent of the total project scope, and the minimum share of any partner should not be less than 25pc,” said Senator Abro.

He noted that ADB-funded proje­cts currently being executed in Bu­­nair adhere to these same guideli­n­­es.

“So how did the NHA allow a par­tner in the JV for the CAREC Tra­nche-III project to participate with only a 2pc share?” he questioned.

Senator Abro further pointed out that the NHA had previously made a similar error by awarding Tranche-I of the CAREC project (Shidoor-Gilgit) to the same JV led by NXCC, despite the partners holding less than the required 25pc share.

The committee directed the NHA to submit all relevant documentation, including the terms of reference with a comprehensive review of the project proposal, the complete tendering process, and the technical and financial bidding documents of all participating firms. An evaluation of consultant in­­put and related records was also requested.

Additionally, the committee anno­unced it was probing the clearance of NXCC through arbitration for the Lod­hran-Multan project, despite its designation as a non-performing company.

Convenor Senator Kamil Ali Agha defer­red the proceedings, giving the NHA a 15-day deadline to gather and submit all required documentation for verification of the firm that had secured the project contract.

The committee members unanimously agreed that a fair and informed decision could not be made without reviewing the full set of documents. They also noted that the recent PPRA decision, which raised similar concerns, further validated the committee’s stance.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2025