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Six Billion Rupees, Three Bureaucrats, One Government Department and No Electricity

A report by Xavia

Energy is the politics of today. What happens tomorrow is dictated by energy demand of today. Energy is the real blood pumping through the hearts of today’s economies. Just as a stoppage in the flow of blood would be fatal, a blockage in the flow of energy would devastate any economy.

Movers and shakers of the world have realized that energy demands must be meant to keep the status-quo in status-quo. As a result associations and networks have established, over the last few decades, which not only keep the status-quo as status-quo but have learnt of devious ways to maximize their personal profits. These networks operate at all levels, international, national and regional. Here we are going to disclose the workings of such a network, which operated for a relatively short period – only four years – but left a terrible impact on the economy of Pakistan.

The Alternative Energy Development Board

Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) was established in May 2003 with the main objective to facilitate, promote and encourage development of Renewable Energy in Pakistan with a mission to introduce Alternative/Renewable Energy at an accelerated rate to achieve 10% share of renewable energy in the energy mix of the country. Since its creation the Board has carried out following projects:

Year – Project Funding (Rs. Million) – Project Title

1. (2004) – ~10.00 – Research and Development of Bio-diesel Applications in Pakistan
2. (2004) – ~5.0 – Fuel Cell Research Project
3. (2004) – ~4.0 – Pilot Project for Development and Installation of 02 Micro Hydro Kaplan Turbines
4. (2005) – 3.90 – Solar electrification at Narian Khorian
5. (2005) – 100.00 – 100 Solar Homes projects in each province
6. (2006) – 21.43 – Pilot Project of Production Plant of Bio Diesel
7. (2006) – 39.80 – Solar Thermal Power Plants Technologies
8. (2006) – 33.04 – Solar Water Pumping & Desalination Unit
9. (2006) – ~3.0 – Development of an Electrical Vehicle
10. (2006) – (cost unknown) – Socio-economic and technical feasibility for designing water supply schemes in villages of Balochistan and Sindh
11. (2006) – (cost unknown) – Socio-economic survey of remote villages & their energy demands and water requirements
12. (2006) – 4.03 – Research on Development of 1 KW Fuel Cell Vehicle
13. (2006) – 3.00 – Development of supply chain mechanism for pedal generator, hand generator and led lanterns
14. (2006) – 200.00 – Block allocation for i) Electrification of villages through installation of indigenously developed micro wind turbines ii) Research on development of 1 KW fuel cell rikshaw. iii) Erection and operation of pilot production plant for biodiesel with 500 liters per day capacity. iv) Assessment of wind/solar power potential and development of GIS for AEDB.
15. (2006) – (cost unknown) – Feasibility Study for Development of a Master Plan for Establishment of an Institute for Renewable Energy Technology
16. (2006) – (between 20 and 200) – Feasibility for waste energy plants in ten (10) cities of Pakistan
17. (2006) – 50.35 – Solar Homes Program
18. (2006) – 887.71 – Electrify 300 villages
19. (2006) – (cost unknown) – Solar Home System for Province of Sindh, Solar Home System for Northern Balochistan, Solar Home System for Central Balochistan, Solar Home System for Southern Balochistan
20. (2006) (cost unknown) – Supply of solar PV lantern system
21. (2007) (cost unknown) – Baseline Capacity Assessment of PMD, AEDB, NEPRA
22. (2007) – (cost unknown) – Study of grid integration with wind farms in Pakistan
23. (2007) – (cost unknown) – Environmental Impact Assessment Study of the Gharo Corridor in Pakistan

Total costs till the end of 2007: Rs. 1.5 billion

According to the documents of Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission, Government of Pakistan provided over 1.5 billion rupees in funds to the AEDB for carrying out a number of projects.

Other than receiving funds from the Government of Pakistan, the AEDB has been funded numerous times by international donor agencies as well. For example the Asian Development Bank (ADB) offered a Technical Assistance (TA) project in 2004 for the development of Renewable Energy in Pakistan. The objective of the proposed Project Preparatory Technical Assistance (PPTA) was to assist the Government in designing a loan for financing investment in Renewable Energy. U.S. $ 550,000 were made available for the PPTA with U.S. $ 137,500 to be provided to each of the four provinces, while another U.S. $ 150,000 were made available for the Small Scale Technical Assistance (SSTA) for capacity building for carrying out Renewable Energy projects of all the four provinces involved with the TA. Some other mention-worthy projects funded by the international donor agencies till 2007 included:

Year – Cost (US $ million) – Agency – Project Title

1. (2004) – 0.55 – ADB – Renewable Energy Development
2. (2005) – 510 – ADB – Renewable Energy Development Sector Investment Program
3. (2007) – 0.8 – ADB – Pakistan: Renewable Energy Policy Formulation and Capacity Development of the Alternate Energy Development Board
4. (2006/7) – 3.10 (GEF) + 0.72 (GoP) – Exploitation of Untapped Potential of Wind Energy

Of the 510 million dollars, ADB had provided nearly 150 million dollars by 2007.

Thus, by the end of 2007, AEDB had been handed up to six billion rupees from Government of Pakistan and international donor agencies. As a result of all this funding, Pakistan produced a total of 0 megawatts of power through renewable resources at the end of 2007.

Narian Khorian Project

To understand what happened to the six billion rupees in four rupees, the most publicized project of the AEDB, the Narian Khorian solar electrification is looked at. On 19 June 2005 Prime Minister of Pakistan Shoukat Aziz inaugurated the ceremony of electrification of the entire Narian Khorian village through solar panels. The village is nearly 40 kilometers from Islamabad.

The project funding included solar panels. Also, each household was given an electric fan and bulb to be powered by the battery charged by solar panel. The village also got a free water desalination plant. The project of solar electrification and desalination plant was Rs. 3.9 million. As there is no paved road leading to the village, a new road was constructed from the motorway to the village. This project is considered a triumph of AEDB and has been mentioned numerous times by local and international media. To this day the local media beats the drums of this successful project and an illuminating example of effective leadership of Air Marshal Raja Shahid Hamid the chairman of AEDB.

The Inside Story

According to Akhtar Solar company located in Islamabad, they donated the solar panels installed at the Narian Khorian village, worth Rs. 3 million, for which they got the tax rebate. Other than the 3.9 million rupees specific to the project, an unknown sum was taken from the # (2006) – 33.04 —- “Solar Water Pumping & Desalination Unit” project (cost 33.04 million) to help buy the water desalination plant at the Narian Khorian village. The road which was constructed from motorway to Narian Khorian village, which in books is a paved road costing millions does not exist today.

Where the Money Went

Which company got the 3.9 million rupees contract to purchase the solar panels and install them at the village is difficult to find. Whichever company that was, the money surely wasn’t used to purchase the solar panels as they were donated by Akhtar Solar. There was also a part of the project money which was to be used for the desalination plant. However, money from another project was also used to purchase the same plant – in essence two projects funded the purchase of same equipment. The road was built by the Government of Punjab. Its cost was a few million rupees.

The Village Story

The person to greet any new arrival in the village is a young teenager, who is considered the spokesperson of the village regarding the solar project. Also, this boy was an employee of Government of Pakistan for a period of two years. He was hired at Rs. 2000/month with the job to oversee and monitor the project and make necessary repairs if needed. He was paid Rs. 500 in advance by a person named by him as “Irfan”, a mid height bearded fellow who used to come in a white corolla with green number plate. (The DG of AEDB is Irfan Afzal Mirza with same physical appearance and has been provided a government Toyota Corolla). According to the teenager, he never saw the fellow ever again nor did he see a single rupee more. He has no idea what happened to rest of his salary.

The next notability is the missing solar panels from rooftops. Then, one is also brought to the desalination plant, where amazingly there is no desalination plant. Of the installed panels, only 30% are in working condition at the moment.

Where the Equipment Went

A year after the triumphant inauguration of the solar village, an official from AEDB in official AEDB truck arrived at the village and started loading solar panels in the truck. He also had a couple of mechanics who quickly unscrewed the desalination plant and loaded it into the Shehzor truck. When the local teenager tried to protest, he was quickly handed over to the local police station. The locals had to pay a small amount of money to get the boy out a couple of days later. Next time when the Shehzor came no one said a word. At the end, more than a million rupees worth of equipment was transferred by the AEDB officials using AEDB’s Government of Pakistan vehicles.

Overview of Narian Khorian Village

Missing One Solar Panel on the left – taken by AEDB Official by force

Room built for Water Desalination Plant, but no plant

The AEDB Story

Air Marshal Raja Shahid Hamid was a well recognized face inside Pakistan’s elite circles. After all he managed to stay at the same post in the Pakistan Air Force for nearly two decades, defying every air force rule and regulation. He had turned Air Weapon’s Complex, under his leadership, into his personal enterprise. Other than girls and alcohol, he was famous for getting millions of dollars of funds from the government to build top secret equipment and weapons and then purchase a Chinese version for peanuts and inaugurate it as being developed at AWC after years of hard work and at the cost of millions of dollars. As all of the tenders, bids and projects were done in closed doors and without transparency, thus there was no one to raise any objection.

Not to forget here, his incompetency was also quite famous. It was during his watch that AWC lost the famous “bomb”. Not Atom Bomb, as AWC does not deal with those. But it was a big bomb which was later found in FATA, after it had accidentally exploded during transport. He had to loyal sub-ordinates working at AWC. Brig. Nasim Akhtar Khan and a civilian engineer Irfan Afzal Mirza.

When Air Chief Marshal Mushaf Ali Mir took over the command, he started a thorough investigation of Air Marshal Raja Shahid Hamid, his trusted team and AWC. According to the report of Military Intelligence, Raja Shahid Hamid had amassed at least US$ 20 million in foreign bank accounts and had shares in at least one hotel in Dubai. At the end of the investigation, Air Marshal Raja Shahid Hamid was given the choice of quietly resigning or… He chose to resign. Brig. Nasim Akhtar Khan was sent back to his unit in the Pakistan Army while Irfan Afzal Mirza was also kicked out. This happened in 2001.

Although Shahid Hamid was out, but he still had contacts, and somehow managed to meet Shaukat Aziz. He somehow convinced Shaukat Aziz that using renewable energy, Pakistan would be able to meet its upcoming energy shortages and under his leadership, it can be achieved in less than five years. As a result in 2003 Alternative Energy Development Board was established with Air Marshal Raja Shahid Hamid as its Chairman, Brig. Nasim Akhtar Khan as its Secretary and Irfan Afzal Mirza as its Director General. It is also worthwhile to note here that Irfan Afzal was given an MP-II grade at the tender age of 30/31, breaking all the rules of Government of Pakistan. Irfan Mirza was not actually 30/31. He had changed his birth certificate to reduce his age by 4 to 5 years. However, in the official documents he was shown 31 at the time of employment.

Shahid Hamid got a pay package of MP-I, nearly 5 lakh rupees per month and Irfan Mirza got nearly 2.5 lakh rupees package per month. A sweet deal to begin with.

Some Other Projects

If the stated scenario is of one of the most propagated projects of AEDB, one doesn’t need a lot of imagination to understand what happened to rest of the 6 billion rupees projects. Some of this money which could be traced is listed below:

1. Research and Development of Biodiesel Applications in Pakistan: The 1 crore rupees project was given to a local company Clean Power, owned by Air Marshal Raja Shahid Hamid’s wife and Irfan Afzal Mirza’s brother. At the end of the project a hundred page report was prepared which no one outside Clean Power and AEDB has seen.
2. Fuel Cell Research Project: This was Rs. 50 lakh project which had to be given to a private company as AEDB wanted to purchase a fuel cell from a foreign company and under some regulations couldn’t do it directly. So the project was given to Clean Power, which used Rs. 4 lakh to purchase a fuel cell and give it to AEDB. Thus, AEDB spent 50 lakh rupees to buy a 4 lakh rupees machinery.
3. 100 Solar Homes projects in each province: The villages were electrified, but no one has ever seen the villages.
4. Pilot Project of Production Plant of Biodiesel: The 2.14 caror rupees project was given to a company of a close “associate” of Brig. Nasim Akhtar Khan. The other companies were rejected because of “undisclosed” reasons, as explained by Brig. Nasim Akhtar in his official letter to one of the companies. He also explained that the elimination procedure was very high standard. However, he did not mention that all of the companies who were rejected in the first round had submitted Financial Feasibilities of less than one caror, while the company which won the bid had submitted a financial feasibility of rupees two caror. The project intended to provide electricity to a village using loacally grown biodiesel. However, at the end of the year the villagers were powering their village using diesel purchased from local petrol pump, and it was found out that during the inauguration, the biodiesel seeds were purchased from an international supplier just for the ceremony. Thus, on ground the only worthwhile expenditure was a Rs. 5 lakh generator from a Rs. 2 caror project.
5. Solar Thermal Power Plants Technologies: This Rs. 4 caror project was carried out directly by the Brig. Nasim Akhtar Khan. Nobody knows who was given the contract to. However, the money was given to somebody.
6. Solar Water Pumping & Desalination Unit: Of the 3.3 carors, only one desalination plant was purchased which was then stolen by an AEDB official.
7. Development of an Electrical Vehicle: The project was meant to indigenously develop an electric vehicle. However, of the Rs. 3 million, half a million were spent to purchase an electric vehicle from oversees, and then it was repainted (literally) to make it look like “Made in Pakistan”. The vehicle can still be seen standing inside the Prime Minister House of Pakistan.
8. Research on Development of 1 KW Fuel Cell Vehicle: The project was intended to develop indigenously the capabilities. However, the fuel cell purchased in the previous project was put in the electric vehicle purchased in another project. Thus, the 40 lakh rupees of this project went straight into the pocket of the bidder – may God Bless the Bidder who achieved the aim without spending a single paisa – truly a miracle which can only happen in Pakistan. What a country?
9. Development of supply chain mechanism for pedal generator, hand generator and led lanterns: The project went to Clean Power, who bought a couple of cycles, connected them with fans and gave it to the AEDB. Thus, the government purchased two bicycles, as the cost of Rs. 15 lakh each.
10. Feasibility for waste energy plants in ten (10) cities of Pakistan: No one alive is said to have seen the feasibility reports. That was enough incentive to stop our investigation for this project.

The list just keeps on going, however, it is hoped this small overview would give a good look at what went on inside AEDB in its first four years.

AEDB Today

After the current government takeover, Air Marshal Raja Shahid Hamid was one of the first persons to go. His number two had been called back to his army unit a few months back, after General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had taken command as COAS. The tenacious Irfan Afzal Mirza is still at AEDB working as Director General in the MP-II equivalent grade. After all, if you would give 60% of whatever you earn to your boss with no questions asked, of course your boss would fight tooth and nail to keep you working under him as well.

Electricity Story

The dreaded load-shedding continues.

Also See:

KESC Rewards Incompetence By Punishing Karachi

Pakistan’s Taxing Democracy

Pehlwans – From Street Thugs to National Thugs – Story of Not So “Sharif” Brothers

Don’t Fool Yourselves, Pakistan’s Judiciary As Screwed As Its Feudal Democracy

Black Revolution 2007: Pakistan’s Lawyers Movement – Bush Administration’s Last Color Revolution

Operation Blue Tulsi: 15 Years in Planning, 10 Years in Preparation and Today in Execution

To Pak Military: Empower The Middle Class To Save Pakistan

A Military-Civil Intervention To Save Pakistan

Pakistan’s Battle Of The Generations

Political Parties Destroying Pakistan

Pakistan’s Fake Democracy, Rich Democrats

Zardari-Gilani: No Money, Just IMF

Pakistan’s Founder Jinnah Has No Place In His Homeland

PPPistan or Nawazistan or Altafistan or Pakistan?