Water And Power Delay Authority

By Ahmed Ahmadani – 

WAPDA is one of the largest employers of human resources in Pakistan but is plagued with numerous issues, causing heavy losses to the national economy and public money. Mismanagement, corruption, bad governance, favoritism in the award of contracts, revisions in PC-I of water projects have all ostensibly lowered the performance of the authority. Meanwhile severe water shortages and long hours of electricity load shedding have made social and economic life miserable in Pakistan.

Official documents made available to Pique disclosed a woeful absence of accountability, poor monitoring and low infrastructure progress, cost escalations in almost all water project cases undertaken by WAPDA. These projects are related to dams, canals, drainages, and hydroelectric power.

There are five dams which are at various stages of construction. These ongoing projects of WAPDA include Gomal Zam Dam Project, Mirani Dam Project, Mangala Dam Raising Project, Sabakzai Dam Project and Satpara Dam Project. None of the projects have achieved the necessary progress to meet the actual date of completion, while costs are continuing to escalate and run beyond the initial feasibility reports on all of them.

Gomal Zam Dam Project

Construction is not fully completed despite the fact that the date of commencement of the project was July 2002 and September 2006 was the original date of completion. The original PC-I cost of the project was estimated at Rs 12,829 million. But the cost of the project has reached Rs 16,857 million by March 2014 because of undue delays. The actual cumulative progress chart discloses substantial physical progress except that of the irrigation system, which is still stuck at 87% against the target of an April 2014 date of completion. The main issues being faced by the project are paucity of funds (GoP share) and the precarious law and order situation in the project area.

Mangla Dam Raising Project

The project located in Mangla River, Mirpur, has so far achieved 99% completion, while resettlement works are at 96% progress and financial progress stands at 95%. The revised PC-II cost in 2011 was set at Rs 96,853 million, but updated total expenditure of the project has revealed that it stands above at Rs 102,011 million now. Main issues of the project are immediate requirement of funds for location of resettlement works and for extended families of the people affected by the project.

Mirani Dam Project

The approved PC-I cost was set at Rs 5,811 million in 2002, with Rs 3,514 million local share and Rs 2,297 million foreign component.  But the government could not attract the requisite foreign investment and total local expenditure registered at Rs 5,267 million by 2013. After completion however, the Irrigation Department did not take over the dam saying that WAPDA was responsible for operation & maintenance as per the approved PC-I and that additional spillways should be constructed to restrict back flow so that losses to the upstream riparian can be minimized, but WAPDA did not have the finances for either.

Satpara Dam Project

Commencement date as per original PC-I was September 2002 while the actual date of beginning was April 2003. The proposed completion date was December 2006 which was later revised and completed during Fiscal Year 2013-14 with above double costs. The original cost was set at Rs 2,090 million with Rs 1,894 million local and Rs 195 million foreign shares. However, by 2009 the revised cost of the project was Rs 4,480 million and an updated expenditure chart shows the project being completed at a cost of Rs 5,450 million.

Non-payment of energy dues by the Government of Gilgat-Baltistan and non-taking-over of Irrigation Network (Lot-2) by Government of GB are to some extent the major issues of project.

Sabakzai Dam Project

The original PC-I cost was set at Rs 1,010 million of local share as foreign financing could not be attracted. However, the proposed total cost of the project witnessed two revisions and surged to Rs 1,960 million by 2013. This project, at least, was completed on time but with double the initial costs.

Hydropower Projects

Out of eight hydropower projects of WAPDA, only two have achieved infrastructure completion. The costs of all have exceeded the original PC-I cost. Although the Allai Khwar and Khan Khwar Hydropower Projects have been completed, expenditure charts disclose 111% and 122% costs against the original proposals. While in the case of Duber Hydropower Project the costs rose to 132.03%. The remaining hydropower projects are facing delays and shortfall of funds.

Canals

At present, three canal projects are ongoing. These are the Rainee Canal, Kachhi Canal and Greater Thal Canal. Two are under construction while the Greater Thal Canal has completed physical work. The Rainee and Kachhi Canal projects are facing shortfall of funds.

Cost for the Rainee Canal project was set at Rs 18,862 million and current expenditure stands at Rs 16, 292 million, stalling physical progress at 97% percent. A request for the remaining funds was submitted to the Ministry of Water and Power on February 20, 2014, it is waiting the approval of ECNEC.

The Kacchi Canal project was approved at a PC-I cost of Rs 57,562 million while current expenditure stands at Rs 38,086 million. The project is lagging behind in achieving physical completion, which stands at 79%, and is awaiting the remaining funds.

Drainage Programs

Currently, two drainage projects of WAPDA are ongoing. First, the Lower Indus Right Bank Irrigation & Drainage Project (RBOD-I) and second, the Balochistan Effluent Disposal into RBOD (RBOD-III). Both of the projects are lagging behind physical completion targets and financial progress.

RBOD-I stands at 88% physical completion and RBOD-III stands at 82% with financial progress of 137%, already costing a sizeable amount more than the original proposal.

A senior official at WAPDA said that RBOD-III was set at Rs 4,485 million initially but has so far absorbed Rs 6,185 million in funds. Also, approval of a revised PC-I has become a major issue of the RBOD-I, which is also awaiting further funding.

The writer is a journalist based in Islamabad