Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s ambitious Rs33 billion free solar energy project is under intense scrutiny following allegations of inflated pricing, limited competition, and serious flaws in the tender process. This controversy comes hot on the heels of the massive Rs40 billion Kohistan corruption scandal, raising fresh concerns about transparency and governance in the province.
A recent report reveals that despite changes in solar panel specifications, the project’s unit price stayed around Rs204,000—far above expert estimates of approximately Rs140,000 per unit. The KP Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (KPPPRA) has flagged the tender process as flawed and non-transparent, highlighting a worrying lack of competitive bidding: 18 out of 20 project packages received only a single bid.
At the heart of the dispute is the controversial inclusion of an “all-in-one” solar solution, reportedly produced by only one foreign manufacturer and supplied exclusively by a single company in Pakistan. Critics argue that the project’s technical specifications were tailored to favor this supplier. Former Chief Engineer Khurram Shehzad Durrani opposed this inclusion over pricing and procedural concerns but was removed from the technical committee soon after.
While the Provincial Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) defends the process as legally compliant and emphasizes the project’s urgent rollout under the Chief Minister’s directive, the controversy persists. A forthcoming meeting of the Standardisation Committee to approve the disputed all-in-one solution has raised fears of retroactive legitimization.
Once hailed as a milestone for clean energy and public welfare in KP, the solar project now faces calls for stricter oversight, transparency, and accountability to restore public trust in the province’s renewable energy initiatives.