The cost of Islamabad Model Prison, a project started in 2017 with an estimated cost of Rs. 3.9 billion, has escalated to Rs. 12 billion due to the increase in prices of raw material amid the delayed execution.

This was unearthed in a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Planning, Development & Special Initiatives held at the Parliament House on Tuesday with Senator Saleem Mandviwalla in the chair.

The Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives gave a detailed briefing on the project started by the Ministry of Interior, following a suo moto notice of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, in Sector H-16, Islamabad.

The Ministry of Planning informed the committee that the budget for the prison project had been increased from the pre-launch estimated expenditure to Rs. 12 billion, while the housing cost of one inmate of prison would be Rs. 5.4 million. It was informed that the project was to be completed in 2019, and since 2017, only Rs. 1.6 billion could be spent on it. The long delays and escalated cost of construction material have pushed the authorities to demand more funds.

Chairman Senator Salim Mandviwalla and the members expressed their annoyance and termed the project to be the costliest project to house prisoners in the country.

Talking to ProPakistani, Senator Salim Mandviwalla said the prison project was started in 2017, and it was to be completed within three years. He regretted that after the passage of five years, only Rs. 1.6 billion could be spent and the project cost had gone three times higher. He said, “the housing cost of one prisoner would be Rs 5.4 million which makes it the most expensive [jail] inmates housing facility.”

Salim Mandviwalla said that the committee had summoned the officials concerned of the Interior Ministry to brief it on the reasons for the delay. He was of the opinion that a standard house of three bedrooms for a family of eight members could be built within Rs. 5 million.

He regretted that the losses caused to the national exchequer by not completing the projects on time and taking project costs beyond the budgeted amounts. He asserted that the prison project would be included in the agendas of all the committee meetings.

The Ministry informed the committee that the Chief Justices of Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court had visited the Islamabad jail project and had formed an evaluation committee.

The committee was informed that 1.6% of the total cost of the project had been spent and that the pending inquiries were cleared, while PC-I was to be revised. It was informed that within a few days the finalized change in design would be submitted to the evaluation committee for further progress.

The meeting was attended by Senator Ejaz Ahmad Chaudhary, Danesh Kumar, Saadia Abbasi, Nuzhat Sadiq, Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tareen, and Senator Palwasha Mohammad Zai Khan along with senior officials from the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives.

Source: Pro Pakistani