A couple of days after an inquiry report into alleged irregularities in the award of the Rs 170 billion Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (Carec) Tranche III project was submitted to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, National Highways Authority (NHA) chairman Sherheryar Sultan was removed and ordered to report to the Establishment Division.
Omar Saeed Chaudhri, a member of the NHA administration, has also been repatriated to its parent department, the Ministry of Defence.
The Establishment Division issued two separate notifications regarding the removal of the NHA president and the repatriation of the member to the Ministry of Defence.
When contacted, the NHA spokesperson said that no one in the NHA or the Ministry of Communication was aware of the reason behind the sudden removal of the president. “The president worked in the office today (Wednesday) until 6 pm, and the decision came that night and surprised everyone at the NHA,” he added.
The removal of the president is believed to be the fall of the biggest hurdle in the NHA amid the Carec controversy as before this development, Chief Minister Shehbaz had already suspended eight senior officials of the NHA for being involved in irregularities in the award of the Carec Tranche III project, including ghost bidding, by the authority.
Meanwhile, an NHA source said Sunrise that the president was removed mainly because of the Carec controversy.
The Carec Section III project has also been subject to scrutiny in five permanent commissions of the Senate and the National Assembly and the Public Ministry.
Four days ago, the inquiry commission formed by Prime Minister Shehbaz to investigate the irregularities in the Carec project submitted its report.
A source in the Prime Minister’s Office had said the results had been presented to the Prime Minister in a sealed envelope, who would likely decide the fate of the investigation in “a day or two”.
In August, the prime minister suspended eight senior NHA officials and formed a committee to investigate irregularities in the awarding of the contract, including ghost bidding, by the authority.
Prime Minister Shehbaz had commissioned an inquiry to review the NHA’s current practices related to blacklisting of contractors; examine whether the NHA carried out due diligence during the opening of technical bids for the Carec Tranche III project; assess whether the NHA carried out the grievance redress in the present proceedings in a transparent and judicious manner; evaluate all stages of the project award so far to determine unnecessary delays, if any; suggest a way forward in the current process; and review any other matters auxiliary to the above.
In September, the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs recommended blacklisting a joint venture of three companies that were awarded a project by the National Highways Authority in violation of norms.
The Senate panel meeting also recommended sending a letter to the donor, the Asian Development Bank, informing it that the bids were “technically invalid and were manipulated due to the malicious intent of NHA officials and contractors.”
Carec is an initiative supported by the Asian Development Bank that was created in 1997 to foster economic cooperation between countries in the Central Asian region.
The road projects of Sections I, II and III are in execution or have been completed. Section III has four lots: Lot 1 (58 km road from Rajanpur to Jampur), Lot 2 (64 km from Jampur to DG Khan), Lot 3 (112 km from DG Khan to Tibbi Qaisrani) and Lot 4 (96 km from Tibbi Qaisrani to DI Khan).
