ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Wednesday expressed serious concern over project delays, cost overruns and procurement violations in multiple foreign-funded projects, including over $500 million water and irrigation projects in Sindh and asked the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to improve its check and balance mechanism.

A meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs presided over by Senator Saifullah Abro had serious reservations over the mishandling of the renovation of the historic Multan City, Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation (SWAT) project and the Sindh Barrages Improvement Project (SBIP) and Power Distribution Strengthening Project in Lahore and a grid station in Islamabad.

The meeting discussed the matter referred by the Senate chairman regarding the release of unspent funds for the renovation and restoration of the historic core of Multan city. Officials briefed that Rs850 million had been allocated for the project and released in 2011, which was to be utilised within Multan. A consultancy firm was awarded Rs170 million for surveys and review studies. The project remains unimplemented to date.

Senators Rubina Khalid and Kamran Murtaza questioned how a federally funded project had been transferred to the provincial level without ‘mandatory’ approval of the federal cabinet. An official of the EAD reported that a Management Committee originally constituted in 2010 at the prime minister’s level was later modified in 2015 to a provincial-level committee.

Chairman Senator Abro questioned how a committee formed at the Prime Minister’s level could be shifted to the Chief Minister’s level and observed that the change of government in 2013 also changed all the circumstances.

He also pointed out the absence of a feasibility report for the originally released Rs850 million and expressed concern that Rs170 million had been paid to a single consultancy firm. Mr Abro asked the project director to share the feasibility report of Phase I, but the project director reported that he had brought the feasibility of Phase II instead of Phase I.

The panel took serious notice of the officer’s unpreparedness for the agenda item and directed him to provide a copy of the Phase I feasibility report within two days including full site-wise details, estimated cost, utilisation and percentage of work completed under the Multan heritage scheme, including explanations regarding transfers of funds to other projects.

The meeting also discussed the two WB-funded projects — $300m SWAT and $200m SBIP and expressed displeasure over the non-provision of briefing material by the Government of Sindh. It asked the EAD to seek the material through Sindh’s Chief Secretary and ensure the presence of the Sindh Irrigation Secretary in the next meeting.

Project Director SWAT told the committee that the project comprised five components, but disbursements had not been completed, and its detailed revised feasibility based on surveys conducted by the project was also nearing completion.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2025