Federal Water and Power Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday has said that the ruling party is ready for any kind of probe regarding Nandipur power project.
He spoke about the recent controversy regarding Nandipur power project in the Senate today. He said that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) should not be blamed in the matter as PC-1 was not prepared before it came in power. He said that it had been at least 35 percent completed by the time PML-N took over.
Asif said that PML-N neither granted contracts nor auctioned in the matter. However, he said that the plant had to be halted due to cost ineffectiveness as it ran on diesel. He said that the plant was supposed to function on furnace oil whereas the contractor mistakenly established largely on diesel.
The federal minister said that the government has now directed to build a unit of required size that functions on furnace oil. He also said that the plant had three stages of completion that should be taken into consideration. Former prime minister (PM) Shaukat Aziz and former president Pervez Musharraf worked on the project.
In the five-year tenure of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Nandipur power project was shelved, he added. Asif said that halt to the project for five years resulted in humongous increase in its manufacturing cost. Senator Aitzaz Ahsan criticised the government for an “unsuccessful” venture that cost the country billions. He called for a probe of the controversial plant under criminal law.
Senator Mohsis Aziz said that the government spent billions over the project while not a single Mega Watt (MW) electricity was produced. He said that Prime Minister (PM) Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif did not come true to their promises. He said that the government could not manage the fuel cost after its extravagant inauguration.
He urged the government to not spend more funds on the project. Senator Aziz further denounced recommendations of Nandipur power plant’s audit and called for a probe instead.
