1 week Ago By Our Staff Reporter
Peshawar - The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) successfully prevented the KP government from incurring a potential loss of Rs168.5 billion in a long-standing dispute related to the Peshawar Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project. The investigation, initiated in 2018, focused on illegal contract awards, misappropriation of funds, and fake performance guarantees submitted by contractors involved in the project.
The inquiry revealed that six contracts for civil works were unlawfully awarded to four joint ventures (JVs) comprising two local and three international firms. While the contracts appeared legitimate, NAB’s investigation discovered that the JVs existed only on paper, with international firms receiving a 2% commission for leveraging their names without doing any actual work. NAB also found that local firms submitted fake bank guarantees and audit reports, further inflating project costs.
Despite the expectation of international standards and rapid project completion, the project was delayed far beyond the six-month deadline. As the dispute escalated, the contractors filed claims amounting to Rs. 31.
8 billion before the International Court of Arbitration (ICA), with more claims expected to total Rs. 168.5 billion for all six project packages.
NAB KP’s investigation intensified, and with collaboration from international anti-corruption agencies and local authorities, the contractors eventually sought an out-of-court settlement. Under NAB’s supervision, the contractors withdrew their claims, including the one filed with the ICA, in exchange for a payment of just Rs. 2.
6 billion from the Peshawar Development Authority (PDA). The case was officially closed in September 2024, saving the provincial exchequer a massive sum that can now be redirected toward other public welfare projects. It is pertinent to mention here that PDA paid a 20 percent premium on the schedule rate to the contractors in order to complete the contract on international standards within a period of six months so that the better resources, modern technology and machinery of international firms be utilised in completion of the project.
However, in violation of these agreements, the contractor neither completed the project in six months nor the international firms ever visited Pakistan for completion of the project. The investigation also revealed that the contractor had submitted two bogus local bank guarantees worth Rs 2 billion to PDA. In addition to the above, eight foreign bank guarantees amounting to Rs6.
5 billion were also submitted in violation of the agreement. The local contractors had also submitted audit reports which were proved bogus by NAB through SECP and the Chartered Accountant of these firms. It was also proved that the staff of the international firms claiming to work on the project, had visited Pakistan for eight to ten days only in the last five years.
The respective Embassies of the international firms fully cooperated with NAB in calling up of these firms. This Bureau in collaboration with their anti-corruption agency enforced the foreign firms to cooperate in the investigation..
