Senators irked over confidentiality of Gwadar port contract

Senators expressed displeasure after a federal secretary refused to share copies of contracts pertaining to Gwadar Port, as the official termed the reports confidential.

The Senate Standing Committee on Finance under the Chairmanship of Senator Farooq Hamid Naek has sought a list of contractors and sub-contractors working at Gwadar Port from the Ministry of Maritime Affairs for discussion during an in-camera meeting of the committee.

To the query, federal Secretary of Maritime Affairs Rizwan Ahmed said that the documents could not be shared with the Senate committee chairman after the secretary stated that under the agreement the contents of the agreement will be kept confidential.

Naek stated, "Entire finance committee strongly supports development of Gwadar Port and Balochistan as it is a gateway to Central Asian countries and would unleash development with the help of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project."

The chairman said that the committee had decided to defer the agenda item of Gwadar Port till next Tuesday to enable the Ministry of Maritime Affairs to provide copies of the ordinances, and both the contracts, of 2006 and 2013, and details of all the subcontractors by Friday (today) to the committee members.

The secretary informed the committee that the copies of the contracts had never been shared with the legislature in the past.