ISLAMABAD: A Senate panel on Wednesday raised strong concerns over persistent delays cost escalations and procurement violations in several foreign funded development projects including more than five hundred million dollars worth of water and irrigation schemes in Sindh. The committee directed the Economic Affairs Division to strengthen monitoring and accountability mechanisms to prevent further losses.

The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro reviewed multiple troubled projects including the renovation of historic Multan City the Sindh Water and Agriculture Transformation project the Sindh Barrages Improvement Project and power distribution initiatives in Lahore and Islamabad. Members expressed dissatisfaction over weak oversight and poor project management.

During the meeting officials briefed that eight hundred and fifty million rupees had been allocated for the Multan heritage project and released in 2011 including one hundred and seventy million rupees paid to a consultancy firm for surveys and review studies. However no physical progress has been achieved and the project remains stalled for more than a decade.

Senators Rubina Khalid and Kamran Murtaza questioned how a federally funded project was shifted to provincial control without the mandatory approval of the federal cabinet. Officials from the Economic Affairs Division said that a committee originally created at the prime minister’s level in 2010 was restructured in 2015 under the provincial government.

Chairman Saifullah Abro criticised the unexplained transfer of authority and the absence of a feasibility report for the original eight hundred and fifty million rupee allocation. When asked to present the feasibility for Phase One the project director mistakenly brought Phase Two documents prompting serious concern over his unpreparedness.

The committee also expressed displeasure over missing briefing material from the Government of Sindh for the three hundred million dollar SWAT project and the two hundred million dollar Sindh Barrages Improvement Project. It directed the EAD to obtain the required details through the Sindh Chief Secretary and ensure that the provincial irrigation secretary attends the next meeting to provide a comprehensive update.