• NHA gave all contracts worth Rs170bn to a previously blacklisted firm
• Committee orders cancellation of current bidding process
ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs Division on Monday uncovered what it called “massive corruption, ghost tendering and illegal contracts” in the Rs170 billion Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Tranche-III corridor project, after all four contracts were awarded to a single firm previously blacklisted by the National Highway Authority (NHA).
The committee, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, reprimanded the NHA for favouring the Chinese firm Ningxia Communication Construction (NXCC), which had been disqualified in 2023 for failing to complete a previous project.
The committee directed the NHA to cancel the current bidding process and initiate a fresh one.
“The Chinese company, terminated by NHA, was disqualified in 2023 after being awarded a contract of Rs6.86 billion for the Lodhran-Multan project in 2021, where only 8 per cent work was completed while around Rs2 billion were already paid,” Mr Abro said.
“Shockingly, this same company has now been illegally awarded a fresh contract worth Rs172bn for CAREC Tranche-III in 2024. How is the company that has been terminated and disqualified by the NHA being given a tender again? This is a case of ghost tendering.”
The meeting was attended by Senators Haji Hidayatullah Khan, Syed Waqar Mehdi, Falak Naz, Kamran Murtaza, and Kamil Ali Agha.
Several construction firms have already contested the contract awards for the four sections of the CAREC Tranche-III project, bringing their grievances before the Grievance Redressal Cell (GRC) of the NHA and the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA).
The complainants had questioned the financial strength of NXCC and its eligibility under NHA criteria.
According to documents reviewed by Dawn, NXCC was disqualified by the NHA in 2023 for failing to complete the 62km Lodhran-Multan section but was still allowed to submit bids for the CAREC project.
The NHA claimed the firm had been cleared by the court, but Senator Abro questioned why the NHA had not appealed the decision. “You wasted the time to facilitate the firm,” he said.
Senator Kamran Murtaza asked why the NHA was favouring a firm disqualified twice and whether NXCC had provided an affidavit stating it was not facing litigation.
NHA officials said no such affidavit was submitted, but Mr Abro presented an affidavit from the firm claiming otherwise. “You [NHA] are befooling the government as the firm had submitted a false statement,” Mr Abro said.
Senator Kamil Ali Agha demanded the firm be blacklisted for life.
“Suspend this project immediately, we will not allow you [NHA] to commit such a heinous irregularity,” Mr Abro said.
Meanwhile, the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) ruled that the appeal against the NHA’s decision was maintainable and directed the NHA not to finalise the procurement process until the appeal was resolved.
The CAREC Tranche-III project involves four lots for which 20 firms submitted bids.
After technical evaluation, five firms each qualified for Lots 1 and 2, four for Lot-3, and two for Lot-4. The total PC-I cost is estimated at Rs85.44bn.
The project aims to convert a two-lane highway into a four-lane highway.
“The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs has the responsibility to take action against corruption worth billions of rupees,” Mr Abro said.
Published in Dawn, July 1st, 2025