ISLAMABAD: The Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) on Thursday came under severe criticism at a meeting of the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) over poor project management, lack of transparency, weak oversight mechanisms, massive cost overruns and delays in two mega critical water projects worth over Rs802 billion — Diamer-Bhasha Dam and Tarbela 5th Extension.
The technical team of the Planning Commission and Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal expressed serious concern over the non-submission of project feasibilities and revised cost estimates for more than six years, as well as attempts to hush up inquiries into alleged mismanagement and corruption. They demanded that both inquiry reports be shared without further delay.
In a rare strongly-worded public statement, the Planning Commission said the CDWP referred the Tarbela 5th Extension Project (T5), now costing Rs316.4bn against the original Rs82bn estimate, to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) for further consideration.
While discussing T5, the minister “expressed serious concerns over the project’s management, transparency, and oversight mechanisms”. He observed that the professional capability of the concerned staff appeared questionable, adding that the Ministry of Water Resources had also pointed out shortcomings in its inquiry report.
Planning Commission criticises authority for cost overruns, poor oversight
The minister questioned the process through which a local consultant with a dubious record was engaged for the project. He said an international consultant had initially been hired but was later replaced by a local company in a non-transparent manner. He directed the authorities concerned to share the inquiry report for detailed review.
Highlighting the financial implications of the project, Mr Iqbal noted that the project was originally estimated at Rs82bn, while expenditures had already crossed Rs140bn. He directed that all observations regarding mismanagement, weak due diligence, and the performance of contractors and consultants be formally placed before Ecnec. He also asked the inquiry committee to thoroughly examine the issues raised during the meeting and submit a comprehensive report to Ecnec.
The CDWP directed the authorities concerned to develop a robust institutional framework to prevent such shortcomings in future projects, stressing that organisations like Wapda must uphold the highest standards of professionalism, accountability and project governance.
The CDWP was informed by the technical team that an inquiry into the breach of the downstream cofferdam at the T5 project had found that “the collapse of T5 downstream cofferdam was not caused by flood but by change in design from roller-compacted concrete (RCC) to rock-fill dam, inadequate supervision and delayed administrative actions leading to structural failure, project delays and financial losses”.
The technical team also asked Wapda to share the inquiry report conducted by the Ministry of Water Resources.
It was further reported that “based on the assumptions and information provided in the revised PC-I, the project appears financially non-viable with levelised cost of Rs28/kWh, which requires appropriate justification as it would be much higher in early years”.
The Ministry of Finance also sought justifications for the 282 per cent cost escalation from Rs82bn to Rs316bn and pointed out that the project was being financed through international financial institutions (IFIs). It asked Wapda to furnish the repayment mechanism for the financing obtained from IFIs.
The planning minister also expressed concern that the revised PC-I of the Diamer-Bhasha Dam had not been submitted for the last six years despite the project cost increasing manifold from the originally approved estimate. This, he said, reflected poor project management capacity.
He directed the new chairman of Wapda to ensure that the project was managed in a professional manner.
Mr Iqbal emphasised that his reservations should be made part of the official record.
The meeting, however, approved revision of the PC-I related to helicopter purchase at Rs25bn purely on security grounds, while directing that the revised PC-I for the dam component be submitted without further delay.
Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2026
