Overview
- Senate Economic Affairs committee members reviewed the project Thursday and pressed WAPDA on inconsistencies in ministry records and unexplained paperwork that list a 2023 signing date despite officials saying Dasu began in 2017.
- WAPDA told the panel that Dasu will total 5,400 MW in two phases, that the revised PC-1 cost is Rs1,737 billion, and that overall physical progress has reached 30 percent with a PC-1 target completion of November 2028.
- Committee members recorded finance details showing a USD 485 million loan has been taken for the project and that about USD 46 million has already been paid in interest despite limited construction progress.
- Senators expressed scepticism about meeting the schedule, flagged weak interdepartmental coordination, and recommended stronger oversight including a dedicated monitoring desk in the Economic Affairs Division and stricter accountability for officials.
- The panel also put on record alleged irregularities in other donor-funded works such as the Sindh Solar Energy Project where about Rs6 billion in taxes were said to have been paid on disputed invoices, underscoring wider procurement and fiscal risks for Pakistan’s energy program.