ISLAMABAD: Chief Executive Officer of National Highway Authority Capt Asadullah Khan (retd) has said that inquiry on controversial portion of CAREC project been completed and the NHA would seek clarification from the Prime Minister’s Office to move the project to the next stage.
While briefing the Senate Sub-Committee on Communications on Monday, the Tranche-III (Rajanpur–DG Khan–DI Khan) of the CAREC project, including its proposal, the complete tendering process and bidding documents, the CEO NHA informed that the Prime Minister’s Office had deputed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct an inquiry into the matter.
He admitted that the misconduct had been committed by the officers of NHA and assured that disciplinary action would be initiated immediately against the responsible officers.
He stated that the inquiry committee had endorsed most of the recommendations of the sub-committee. He further informed that four project packages had been awarded to a single company, whereas the appropriate course was to award each package to different companies.
He said due to these delays, the procurement process is likely to be delayed by more than one year which ultimately results heavy cost over the project. The Convener Sub-Committee Senator Kamil Ali Agha observed that scrapping the project would ultimately benefit the culprits.
He stated that the issue was initially raised by the Parliament and was later highlighted by the media, adding that such circumstances had brought the project to the brink of being scrapped.
He emphasised the need to formulate effective policies in the future to address such challenges in a timely and prudent manner.
Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro stated that the sub-committee was never in favour of scrapping the project and suggested that the project should be completed in phases.
Senator Saifullah Abro, while referring to the remarks of the CEO, NHA regarding the crime committed by NHA officers, strongly recommended the termination of the culprits from service in order to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
He also recommended that the loan should remain intact until December 2027 and that variation orders should be avoided. He said that NHA must submit monthly progress reports to the committee.
The Sub-Committee recommended that, as per the commitment made by the CEO, NHA, work on the project would be initiated within 15 days, and progress updates would be submitted to the main committee from time to time.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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