The Punjab government has recently noticed the award of an RS20.4 billion contract for Party 2 and Party 3 in Chahan Dam Water Supply Project to a Turkish company after completing a partnership with a Pakistani company seeking a report within a week.

Up to 25 million liters of water are to be delivered from Chahan Dam and Rawal Dam to Rawalpindi daily under RS33.859B -Lock Financing from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The contract was assigned exclusively to a Turkish company after completing the partnership with the Pakistani company. The lack of transparency in the contract award and violation of laws and regulations has led to the formation of a fact committee, led by the chairman of the Chief Minister’s Inspection Team (CMIT). The committee has begun to review the items at Wasa Rawalpindi, and a report will be submitted to the Punjab Chief Minister after a week.

The committee, under the leadership of CMIT chair Salman Ejaz, and members Ahsan Waheed (Member Fire) and Ghulam Abbas Work (Membership Technology) are investigating the record at Wasa Rawalpindi regarding the bid process for the project.

The bidding involved a joint venture between the Turkish Society, 5H Insaat, and the Pakistani Society, Qasim & Co., however, the contract for Lot 2 and Lot 3 was assigned exclusively to the Turkish Society. According to the law, no foreign company is allowed to secure a contract without forming a joint venture with a Pakistani company.

Sources say the contract for LOT 2 and LOT 3 was awarded seven months later, after the contracts for Party 1 and Lot 4 had already been awarded. In this context, WASA sought guidelines from the local government.

A letter regarding the formation of the Facts-Finding Committee was issued by Sajad Zafar Dal, the most important secretary of Punjab CM. It is worth noting that the contracts for LOT 1 and LOT 4 had already been awarded. The contract for Party 2, which was appreciated for RS8,3b, and Lot 3, worth RS12.1B, was awarded the Turkish Society 5H Insaat. Working with Party 1 and Lot 4 are already underway.

For Party 1, the contract for a 12 million gallon-day water treatment plant at Chahan Dam, worth RS6,36B, was awarded China Construction Thirding Engineering Group (Penty V). Meanwhile for party 4 involving the upgrading of the filtration system and pumping machines at Rawal Dam and Khanpur Dam, as well as rehabilitation of the old water lines, the contract was worth RS7.199b awarded a joint venture of 5H Insaat and MS Metra Khan Bd Ltd.

These two contracts must be completed within three years. For Party 2, the contract for installing a head pipeline from Chahan Dam to Chak Jalal DIN, worth RS8.3b, and for Party 3, the contract to put the distribution network to supply water from Chahan Dam to the city’s residents, worth RS12.1B, is awarded.

The end of these four contracts will improve the water supply system significantly in the Six Union Councils (UCS) along Adiala Road as well as within Khayaban-E-Sirsyad and other parts of Rawalpindi City.

It is important to note that this project, which was initiated with a loan of RS33.859B from ADB, has appointed Hamza Salik as project director in Lahore and Zeeshan Shaukat Gondal for Deputy Project Manager at Wasa Rawalpindi.