PESHAWAR: Alleged irregularities have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s mosque solarisation project, with documents raising questions over bidding costs, the re-inclusion of disqualified companies in the tendering process and the handling of delays under a previous contract.
According to the documents, successful bids for all seven packages covering the solarisation of 2,490 mosques during the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government exceeded official estimates by between 7.98% and 10.99%. This reportedly placed an additional financial burden of more than Rs500 million on the public exchequer.
The documents further state that two companies initially declared unsuccessful during prequalification were allowed to re-enter the tendering process following complaints.
Questions have also been raised over the estimated cost per solar unit. According to the documents, a difference of approximately Rs156,000 per unit was identified between the government estimate and the cost of a previous project executed by the National Radio and Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC).
Another issue concerns delays in the previous NRTC contract. The documents refer to a potential penalty of approximately Rs586 million for the delay. However, instead of imposing the penalty, the organisation was reportedly awarded an additional contract to solarise 500 mosques, with the estimated cost standing at Rs419.1 million.
The developments have raised questions about the procurement process, cost assessments and the decision to award additional work despite the reported delays.
However, the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) has defended the project, stating that all legal requirements and transparency standards were observed. The organisation said bids were evaluated in accordance with the prescribed rules and that no firm was given an unlawful advantage.
PEDO also attributed delays in the project to funding constraints and administrative issues. The organisation said the overall target was to solarise 7,500 mosques across the province.
