DADU: The Nai Gaj Dam project, once hailed as a game-changer in water security and flood protection in the district, now stands as a stark example of bureaucratic paralysis caused by persistent funding delays, price escalations and administrative bottlenecks.

Nestled in Kirthar Range and fed by seasonal Nai Gaj River, the dam is being built under the supervision of Wapda to address frequent flooding in Kachho region, enhance irrigation for 28,800 acre, provide water to Manchhar Lake through a 52-kilometre pipeline, and generate 4.2 MW electricity.

However, according to Syed Ali Akhtar Shah, an official at Wapda Water Wing, the project’s fate was increasingly becoming uncertain due to non-release of committed funds.

He warned that further delays could nullify the years of efforts and billions of rupees funds already invested.

Initially approved by ECNEC in 2009 with a cost of Rs16.924 billion, the project suffered hiccups from the beginning. The lowest bid of Rs38.792bn came in 2012, creating a funding gap and delaying the start.

By 2012, a revised PC-I with estimated cost of Rs59.414bn was submitted but at the cost of major cutbacks, including the powerhouse, access roads and pipeline to Manchhar Lake. It was, however, approved at Rs26bn.

Despite expectations the project would finish by 2015, only 38 per cent of the project had been completed by 2018, with Rs11.543bn released. A scandal in 2018 involving a fake performance guarantee forced Wapda to terminate the contract, halting the project for 40 months, until the matter was resolved through arbitration under directives of Sindh High Court, said officials.

In 2021, Wapda submitted a second revised PC-I of Rs47.732bn, restoring the key components that had been cut earlier. Subsequently, the work was restarted in October 2021 with understanding to complete the project in three years by October 2024. However, the progress on the project again remained slow due to unprecedented price hike in construction inputs followed by massive flood in 2022, which caused flooding and damage to access roads and suspension of work for about six months, said the officials.

Even after a 2023 agreement to unfreeze the price escalation clause under judgement of Sindh High Court in November 2022, Wapda faced fresh difficulties in making payments to the contractor.

In financial year 2024–25, the federal government allocated Rs5bn, but released only Rs3bn, which was insufficient to maintain momentum but this financial year 2025-26, only a total of Rs500m were allocated which caused more disturbance as the contractor had halted work on the site. By March 1, 2025, the work was suspended once again due to non-release of further funds.

Rafiq Ahmed Jamali, Pakistan Peoples Party MNA from Dadu, told this correspondent that chronic underfunding had made it impossible for the project to meet targets, and emphasised the importance of resuming and sustaining the progress.

Former federal minister Liaquat Ali Jatoi warned that the contractor might terminate the contract entirely if dues were not cleared promptly. “This will mean a total waste of over Rs23.231bn already invested,” he said, urging immediate intervention by both federal and provincial governments.

Ahmed Waheed Bhatti, the project manager, confirmed that 1,500 staff members were demobilised after Wapda failed to clear Rs4.2bn in dues, blaming the Ministry of Water Resources for the funds’ hold-up.

Pir Babar, an inhabitant of the area around the Nai Gaj Dam, said that the dam, once hailed as a game-changer for water security and flood protection in the region, now stood as a stark example of bureaucratic paralysis and financial mismanagement.

Renowned environmentalist Nasir Panhwar said that if funding remained inconsistent, not only could the dam remain incomplete, but Kachho region might also continue to suffer seasonal devastation, water shortages and agricultural decline.

He said that without immediate corrective steps, this critical project risked joining the long list of abandoned public-sector infrastructure dreams in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2025