Overview
- The Federal Constitutional Court set aside Sindh High Court orders and restrained courts from intervening in the Nai Gaj Dam project until its completion to avoid delays to the public works program.
- The FCC upheld the 2021 arbitral award and related decrees and MoU as final, ruling that contract disputes must follow the agreed dispute-resolution mechanism rather than fresh high-court orders.
- The court found the contractor had submitted a forged performance bank guarantee, a fact confirmed by the Bank of Punjab, and said that forgery justified WAPDA’s termination of the contract.
- The judgment gives the contractor one week to seek permission to resume work under the original contract and requires WAPDA to decide within 15 days, with WAPDA allowed to re-tender remaining work on a risk-and-cost basis if the contractor refuses or fails to comply.
- Launched in 2009 to support irrigation and restore Manchar Lake, the Nai Gaj Dam has faced long delays from design changes and funding disputes, and the FCC ruling could speed completion but may also trigger re-tendering and further procurement work that affects local jobs and timelines.