Rs13.3 billion solar project for KP merged districts delayed as 130,000 households await systems

A solarisation project for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s merged districts, approved in 2024 with federal funding of about Rs13.32 billion, has yet to deliver solar systems to households despite nearly two years having passed since its announcement, The News reported. 

The project aims to provide solar systems to around 130,000 homes in the merged districts, with an expected generation capacity of 93 megawatts and annual production of about 172.85 million kilowatt hours.

Under the plan, funds were transferred by the federal government to the provincial government for implementation of the scheme to provide electricity to households in areas facing energy shortages.

According to official records, a committee led by the finance minister was formed on June 12, 2024, to oversee the project. The initiative was formally announced on August 14, 2024, by the then chief minister.

Subsequently, a technical committee was constituted on September 20, 2024, while the Bank of Khyber approved Rs20 billion for southern districts of the province on September 25, 2024. A memorandum of understanding between the Bank of Khyber and the Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organisation (PEDO) was signed on November 8, 2024.

Later, the technical committee was reconstituted on November 20, 2024. On December 12, 2024, an advertisement was issued seeking pre-qualification of contractors, followed by the registration of beneficiaries on December 24, 2024.

The PC-I for the project was submitted on January 13, 2025 and approved for inclusion as a non-ADP scheme on January 22, 2025. An electronic balloting process to select beneficiaries was conducted on March 6, 2025, and a notification for pre-qualified contractors was issued a day later.

However, the project faced further delays after these steps. The PC-I was deferred on April 21, 2025, the contractor pre-qualification process was cancelled on July 14, 2025, and revisions to the project specifications were initiated on August 15, 2025.

Despite these developments, no household has yet received a solar system under the scheme.

Officials said the delay has raised concerns about the pace of implementation of the project, which was designed to provide electricity access and reduce energy costs for thousands of households in the merged districts.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the project had been delayed due to technical issues but added that the problems had now been resolved.

He said meetings were being held to review progress on the initiative and that the government remained committed to implementing the scheme.

According to the chief minister, the project will be inaugurated soon and solar systems are expected to be provided to households by June this year.