Five year delays hit foreign funded water schemes,...

Summary

• Islamabad:  The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs raised concerns over delays and procurement problems in foreign funded water and wastewater projects in Punjab, including a 30 million gallons per day Faisalabad water supply scheme approved in 2019.
• The committee also raised a wider question about the reach of WASA related foreign funded water projects.
• The committee stressed that foreign funded water and wastewater projects must follow transparent procurement procedures and clear accountability rules.

AI Generated Summary

Islamabad:  The Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs raised concerns over delays and procurement problems in foreign funded water and wastewater projects in Punjab, including a 30 million gallons per day Faisalabad water supply scheme approved in 2019. The committee was told that procedures for some foreign funded projects have taken as long as five years, delaying services for the public.

The committee met on under the chairmanship of Senator Saifullah Abro at Parliament House, Islamabad. Senator Hidayat Ullah Khan, Senator Rubina Khalid, Senator Kamil Ali Agha and Senator Kamran Murtaza also attended the meeting. The committee reviewed foreign funded projects being carried out by the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) in cooperation with development partners and United Nations agencies.

The committee gave special attention to the Extension of Water Resources for Faisalabad City Phase II, which has a capacity of 30 million gallons per day. Officials told the committee that the project was approved in 2019. The committee expressed concern that delays in such development projects directly affect ordinary people because water and other public services are delayed, while costs can also increase.