Islamabad: Special Secretary of the Ministry of Communications Ali Sher Mehsud on Tuesday conceded that poor planning was a hurdle for the National Highway Authority (NHA) in road projects across the country.
Members Public Accounts Committee (PAC) lodged complaints with the communications secretary over the poor condition of major highways and expressed particular concern over delays in completing road projects.
What was meant to be a direct review of the NHA’s audit objections for 2024-25 turned into a gruelling 90 minute session. Members spent the first 90 minutes discussing recommendations to improve NHA operations before finally turning their attention to audit discrepancies.
The first audit objection noted a Rs 4.3 billion contract fora 167 kilometre stretch of the Jaglot-Skardu highway awarded to the Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for improvements and upgrades.
Mehsud described the Jaglot-Skardu Road as “not a normal road.”
“There are 16 sections on the highway that are prone to landslides. Last year, two landslides damaged the highway. Last month, two more landslides delayed the project, which was originally scheduled to be completed in November 2022,” he said, responding to concerns over delays.
When members complained that delays in road projects reflected faulty planning, Mehsud assured the committee that the planning wing was being strengthened through the hiring of a specialised team to overcome capacity limitations in highway design.
Another audit objection pertained to a defective design that led to additional work through a variation order without open competition, causing a loss of Rs 4.080 billion.
The audit observed that the construction of an approximately 11.8 kilometer, four lane bypass, including the existing Spina More section, was not included in the scope of the original project, titled “Dualisation and Improvement of Indus Highway (N-55) Karak to Kohat”.
Another audit paragraph related to an irregular payment of Rs 1.869 billion made without approvals from the finance department in connection with the construction, rehabilitation and widening of the Chitral-Kalash Valley Road.
The audit observed that the NHA had made provisional payments on account of escalation for provisional works. This resulted in an irregular payments of Rs 1.869 billion to the contractor without obtaining approval from the competent authority.
The Auditor General’s office directed the NHA to blacklist the consultant involved in the project and also called for strengthening the authority’s Design Wing to ensure proper oversight and report the outcome.
