CDWP Publicly Rebukes WAPDA as Tarbela 5th Extension Costs Hit Rs316 Billion

Pakistan's Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday issued a rare public rebuke of the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), criticising it for massive cost overruns, poor project management, and a lack of transparency on two critical national infrastructure projects worth over Rs802 billion — the Diamer-Bhasha Dam and the Tarbela 5th Extension.

Tarbela 5th Extension: A Fourfold Cost Explosion

The sharpest criticism at Thursday's meeting focused on the Tarbela 5th Extension Project (T5), a key hydropower expansion on Pakistan's largest existing dam. Originally approved at Rs82 billion, T5 now carries a revised cost estimate of Rs316.4 billion — nearly four times the original figure — while actual expenditures have already crossed Rs140 billion.

The CDWP has referred T5 to the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) for further consideration, effectively suspending its current approval status until the cost escalation can be reviewed at the highest government level.

Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal described the situation as alarming, questioning the professional capability of WAPDA staff involved in the project and noting that the Ministry of Water Resources had itself flagged shortcomings in a separate inquiry report. Both inquiry reports were demanded to be shared without further delay.

Consultant Controversy at the Heart of the Dispute

A significant portion of the CDWP's criticism centred on how project oversight was structured. An international consultant initially engaged for T5 was later replaced by a local firm — reportedly with a dubious record — in what the minister described as a non-transparent process. The minister directed authorities to share the inquiry report on this substitution for detailed review.

The Planning Commission noted that WAPDA had failed to submit project feasibilities and revised cost estimates for more than six years, a lapse it said fundamentally undermines public-sector project governance. Attempts to suppress inquiry findings were described as unacceptable.

Diamer-Bhasha Dam Also Under Scrutiny

Pakistan's most ambitious ongoing dam project, the Diamer-Bhasha Dam in Gilgit-Baltistan, was also flagged at the meeting. It forms part of the combined Rs802 billion figure cited by the CDWP, though specific revised cost figures for Diamer-Bhasha were not disclosed in Thursday's session. Like T5, the project faces concerns over timeline delays and oversight gaps. Together, both dams represent the largest planned additions to Pakistan's water storage and hydropower capacity in a generation.

Why the Rebuke Matters Beyond the Dam Sites

Cost overruns of this scale have compounding consequences. When a hydropower project is delayed, the low-cost electricity it was meant to generate is deferred — keeping Pakistan dependent longer on expensive thermal power. Those thermal fuel costs are passed on to consumers every month through NEPRA's (National Electric Power Regulatory Authority's) Fuel Cost Adjustment (FCA) charges on electricity bills. Every year T5's commissioning slips is another year Pakistan burns imported furnace oil or gas instead of generating zero-fuel-cost hydro units.

The referral of T5 to ECNEC also signals that the project's financial scope has grown well beyond routine approval thresholds, a level of scrutiny that could introduce additional delays before corrective action begins.