PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa livestock and fisheries department has successfully conducted the country’s first-ever e-auction for leasing out fishing rights of public water bodies, with officials declaring it a major step towards transparent governance, digital transformation and sustainable management of fisheries resources.

The first online auction, conducted for Zebi Dam located in Karak district, concluded on Wednesday through a secure, transparent and fully digital bidding process.

The Arif & Brothers company emerged as the highest bidder with an offer of Rs3.051 million, compared to the previous lease value of Rs1.2 million, resulting in an impressive 155 per cent increase in government revenue from the reservoir.

Officials said that the e-auction system has eliminated the middlemen, minimises human intervention, maintains a complete digital audit trail, enables real-time competitive bidding and allows eligible participants from across Pakistan to participate remotely.

Officials say initiative to enhance transparency, public confidence and ease of doing business

They said the initiative was expected to enhance transparency, public confidence and ease of doing business while maximising returns from public assets.

The officials said following the successful launch, the fisheries department had planned to conduct E-auctions for the remaining 17 public water bodies, including Tarbela Dam, through the same digital platform.

They said the department was also developing the Digital Reservoir Management System to support scientific resource management, monitoring, conservation and evidence-based policy making for the sustainable development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector.

The officials said that the initiative positioned Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the national leader in digital fisheries governance and was expected to serve as a model for other provinces seeking transparent, technology-driven management of public resources.

Livestock secretary Zariful Maani told Dawn that the fisheries department had also fixed the reserve prices for the auction of fishing rights in all 17 public dams and reservoirs for the 2026-29 lease period after conducting a realistic assessment of the fisheries production potential of each water body.

He said that the new reserve rates have been determined on the basis of the actual revenue-generating capacity of the reservoirs.

The secretary said that the revised reserve prices were more than double compared to the lease amounts realised during the previous auction cycle in most cases, reflecting both the untapped economic potential of those public water bodies and the government’s commitment to maximising returns from public assets through a transparent and competitive e-auction mechanism.

He said the most significant increase had been proposed for Tarbela Dam, where the reserve price had been enhanced from Rs150 million in the previous lease to Rs350 million for the 2026-29 auction period.

Mr Maani also said substantial upward revisions had been made for Gomal Zam Dam from Rs19 million to Rs30 million, Jalozai Dam from Rs2.7 million to Rs34 million and others.

Similarly, the fishing rights of Mardankhel Dam attracted a highest bid of Rs536,000, according to him.

The secretary said during the previous manual auction conducted for the 2023-2026 period, no individual or firm had submitted any bid for that water body.

He said reserve prices had also been fixed for dams that remained un-auctioned during the previous tenure, thereby bringing additional public assets into the revenue stream.

Mr Maani said that with the adoption of scientifically determined reserve prices, coupled with an electronic auction system, was expected to promote transparency, encourage wider competition among bidders and secure greater financial returns for the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He said another significant feature of the e-auction system was that bidders can participate from anywhere in the country without travelling to the auction venue.

“This not only reduces time and costs but also encourages greater competition by enabling wider participation from interested individuals and firms,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2026