ISLAMABAD, Aug 27: A Senate committee on Monday expressed dissatisfaction over a report submitted by the Ministry of Ports and Shipping justifying the contract awarded to a Singaporean firm for operating the Gwadar Port. A committee member threatened to take the matter to court.

Senators, particularly those belonging to the Balochistan province, criticised the ministry for not coming up with lucid responses on many key issues, including the decision to lease out 2,500 acres of prime land in Gwadar and allowing the Singapore firm to run the port for 40 years.

Senator Dr Abdul Malik of the National Party (NP) told Dawn that the committee members were dissatisfied with the briefing given by ministry officials on the Gwadar project. He said the ministry presented the copy of the agreement signed between the government of Pakistan and the Singapore Port Authority on Monday after initial reluctance.

Dr Malik said the committee members were surprised that the agreement had been signed by the acting chairman of the Gwadar Port Authority and not by its secretary.

Dr. Malik said the agreement had no legal, moral or constitutional position and, therefore, he had decided to challenge the contract in the higher courts after consulting other opposition members. He said the contract had not been signed in a transparent manner and alleged that those responsible for the stock market scam were involved in it.

The senator said the ministry officials were unable to explain why the contract had been signed with the Singapore Port Authority, which had not even participated in the first bid.

He said the only reply given by the ministry officials was that the contract could not be signed with any Dubai-based firm as the UAE was a main competitor.

According to an official handout issued by the Senate Secretariat, the body called for greater representation of the local people in middle and lower level jobs at the Gwadar Port Authority. The committee questioned the ministry over its leasing of the 2,500 acres of prime land in Gwadar to the Singapore firm.

The committee members felt that the decision on the port should had been taken after taking the locals and their elected representatives into confidence. It directed the ministry to submit the land deal to the committee. It also stressed the need for early completion of related infrastructures such as road and rail links to Gwadar port.

Secretary of the ministry Naheed Hyder briefed the committee members on the Gwadar Port, details of employment quota and the agreement signed with the Singapore firm. The meeting was presided over by Gulshan Saeed.