ISLAMABAD: The PPP-led Sindh government has awarded Rs 25.5 billion Karachi water supply project to the Frontier Work Organisation (FWO), allegedly violating its own rules and regulations, source told Daily Times. The provincial government earlier this year started a water supply project in the port city to overcome the acute shortage of the commodity but unfortunately the project has been hit by allegations of corruption and favouritism. The Transparency International (TI) through an open letter has apprised the quarters concerned about the irregularities committed while awarding contract of the mega project to the FWO and called upon them to follow the rules while awarding such big development projects. In a letter written to the managing director of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board, the TI maintained that unsolicited contract of the project worth Rs 25.5 billion was awarded to the FWO that was in violation of the SPPRA Act. The organisation requested the managing director of the KWSB to act in accordance with the provisions of the Sindh Public Procurement (Amendment) Act 2013 and SPPRA Rules 2010, while keeping in record an FWO admission that unsolicited contracts cannot be awarded under the PPRA rules. The TI asked the KWSB MD to invite open tenders of K-IV project in order to avoid allegations of mis-procurement, corruption and corrupt practices against the 13 public office holders who approved the illegal exemption in a meeting held on February 11, 2016. FWO is a subsidiary of Pakistan Army and is involved in construction of roads and bridges across country. It is pertinent to mention here that in a recent corruption complaint about award of Karachi-Lahore motorway project to M/s China Railway 20 Bureau and ZKB of Pakistan at a cost of Rs 168.654 billion while causing a loss of Rs 14 billion, the FWO in a press release issued on December 12, 2015 itself admitted that its unsolicited proposal (tender) for the project could not be entertained by the NHA due to PPRSA Rules (Annex-A). “It is clarified that the FWO doesn’t have any reservations to the tendering process of NHA because FWO didn’t participate in the bidding process due to non-fulfilling the pre-requisites. However, after the opening of the bid, FWO offered unsolicited proposal which the NHA couldn’t entertain due to PPRA rules and procedures,” a statement issued by the FWO at that time had said. Daily Times repeatedly approached KWSB MD for his comments on alleged corruption and malpractices in award of contract to the FWO, but could not seek his version. Daily Times also contacted FWO Media Manager Col Zafar Iqbal but couldn’t get his comments too.