Pakistani PM orders inquiry increase in cost of power project

Prime Minister of Pakistan Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has ordered an inquiry for the large increase in the cost Nandipur power project and directed the secretary of the Planning Division to submit a report within three days. The prime minister took the decision as he got the reports about increase in cost without any cogent reason and directed that all dimensions of the matter should be considered and the report be submitted after a thorough scrutiny. The project was scheduled to complete in 2011 and the original cost was set at USD 329 in 2009 but the previous government refused to clear its equipment lying at the Karachi port for two years. A political leader of Pakistan Peoples Party claimed that Chinese firm working on the project had sought just USD 40 million in cost escalation and coupled with the extended insurance period the total cost should have been around USD 400 million but the government quoted the cost at USD 457 million. The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz led government has attributed the increase in cost to exchange rate of rupee to dollar and claims that a part of the project's machinery got damaged at the port and some components disappeared. The Pakistani delegation that visited China recently persuaded the Chinese contractor working on the Nandipur project to resume work on the site. The Chinese company arrived Pakistan to visit Nandipur site and visited the Karachi port to inspect the equipment and instruments of the project. The engineers will get the machinery released from the port and restart the project.