PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is getting historic loans amounting to Rs130 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for water supply, construction of parks and recreational areas, drainage and garbage disposal in six major cities of the province.
Initially, the project was proposed for Peshawar, Mardan, Kohat and Abbottabad but later Mingora and Bannu were also included in the list. It is also expected that the project would be extended to all divisional headquarters in the future.
The provincial Planning and Development (P&D) Department has completed the preliminary paperwork for awarding the contract costing Rs22 billion to a contractor from Balochistan province who is also a Senator of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
According to the documents of the P&D department, out of the loan received from ADB, contracts worth Rs22 billion are being awarded to a company called Metracon. According to documents, another senator’s company ZKB from Balochistan is also being awarded contracts worth Rs30 billion from the same project. The same company has also been awarded the contract of Swat Motorway Phase-2 worth 37bn rupees.
Former Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has laid the foundation stones of several schemes under this mega project in the last months of his government. Metracan Company was awarded the contract for the installation of sewage treatment plant at the cost of Rs8.31 billion in Mardan through a bid that was approved on August 2, 2022 and letter of approval was issued on August 15, 2022. The same company was awarded the contract for water supply line maintenance and rehabilitation at a cost of Rs7.94 billion in Abbottabad.
Documents show that after the initial paperwork, the same company was awarded the contract for the construction of water supply scheme and water treatment plant worth Rs5.80 billion in Mingora which was also approved and a letter of approval was issued on 16 October 2022.
According to the documents, loan of Rs130 billion is being borrowed from the ADB for projects for water supply, construction of parks and recreational areas, drainage and garbage disposal in Peshawar, Mardan, Abbottabad, Kohat, Mingora and Bannu. It also includes rehabilitation of water supply system in Abbottabad and establishment of new water treatment plant, construction of Adventure Family Park and Cricket Ground and uplifting of old market Abbottabad city. These projects will be completed at an estimated cost of Rs11.68 billion.
Similarly, a total of Rs9 billion will be spent on the construction of recreational places/parks in Kohat, Mardan, Mingora and Peshawar, while the construction of sewage treatment plant in Kohat will cost Rs7.50 billion. Agreements have been signed for implementation of sewage treatment plant in Mardan at a cost of Rs8.30 billion and water supply network in Mingora at a cost of Rs20 billion .
Under the KP Cities Improvement Project, Rs6.73 billion have been allocated to the construction of a sewage system and a new sewage treatment plant in Kohat. Similarly, the water supply system restoration project in Kohat will be completed at an estimated cost of Rs4.65 billion. A total of Rs560 million will be spent on the business development and community center for women and sports complex in Kohat.
Under the Project, a total of Rs4 billion will be spent on three mega projects in Peshawar: improvement and maintenance of water supply system, expansion and improvement of Bagh-e-Naran and establishment of a new Park.
Several attempts were made to contact the project director, but he could not be reached for comments.
