National Engineers Welfare Association being reorganized

on 11/09/2020

Organization’s setups for center and Sindh announced; Engr Abdul Qadir Shah announced Chairman,
Engr. Mukhtar Shaikh Central Coordinator

Led by former chairman Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) Engr Abdul Qadir Shah, the National Engineers Welfare Association (NEWA) has initiated a process of its reorganization ahead of the PEC election due next year.
Engr Abdul Qadir Shah who lost polls to Engr Jawed Salim Qureshi, the incumbent chairman of the council believes reorganization of his association along with new strategies would benefit the organization in the next elections. Also, the organization would be able to raise the voice of the engineers in Pakistan.
As a first step, NEWA has announced organizational structures for the center and Sindh, and the orgnzation is busy finalizing office bearers for the rest of three provinces such as Punjab, KP, and Balochistan.
In the new organizational setup, Engr Syed Abdul Qadir Shah will lead the organization as the Chairman. The rest of the officer bearers are as following:
Engr. Zahid Arif (Sr.Vice Chairman), Engr. Mukhtar A.Shaikh (Central Coordinator), Engr. Zahid Hussain Lashari (Dy. Coordinator), Engr. Iftikhar Ahmed (Vice Chairman, Punjab), Engr. Raghib Abbas Shah (Vice Chairman, Sindh) Engr. Qazi Rasheed Ahmed (Vice Chairman, Balochistan), Vice Chairman KPK (to be announced later), Engr. Abdul Rehman Shaikh(General Secretary), Engr. Dr. Samreen Hussain (Joint Secretary), Engr. Mohsin Ali Khan (Social Secretary), Engr. M.Iqbal Qureshi (Information & Media Coordination) and Engr. Abdul Majid Malik (Secretary Finance).
Besides the central body, the orgnaztion has announced a 10-member Central Executive Committee as under
Engr. Dr. Wali Abbas, Engr. Abdul Khaliq Shaikh, Engr. Javed Shaikh, Engr. Abhiman Mullani, Engr. Parkash Lohano, Engr. Manzoor Ahmed Shaikh (CAA), Engr. Muhammad Farooq Baloch (Gawadar), Engr. Shahid Khan Babar, Engr. Abdul Hameed Mengal, Engr. Sarfaraz Ahmed Tunio and

Engr. Syed Waqar Hussain.
Moreover, the office bearers for Sindh are as under:
Engr. Dr. Zubair Ahmed Shaikh (President), Engr. Dr. Madad Ali Shah (Dy. President), Engr. Syed Nadeem Shah (Vice President-I), Engr. Faizer Ali Panhwar (Vice President- II), Engr. Nizamuddin Abbasi (General Secretary), Engr. Syed Zulifqar Ali Shah (Joint Secretary), Engr. Abdul Aziz Bhutto (Social Secretary) and Engr. Manzoor Ahmed Shaikh (Inform­­ation/Media Secretary). The name of the Finance Secretary will be announced later.
The list if Sindh Executive Committee is as under:
Engr. Iqbal Ahmed Shaikh (Railway), Engr. Khursheed Ahmed Seehar, Engr. Mehfooz Ursani, Engr. Noor Hassan Sarki, Engr. Uzair Qureshi, Engr. Riaz Ali Memon (KHL), Engr. Rajev Oad (PTCL Hyd), Engr. Abdul Ghani Shaikh, Engr. Abdul Rauf Shaikh (NHA), Engr. Mumtaz Ahmed Jamali, Engr. Fahmida Rehman and Engr. Idrees Shaikh.
The officials of the organization say various committees are working on a new manifesto of the organization. However, a website has also been designed to promote the organization as well as the issues of the engineers in Pakistan

What Karachi needs to avoid urban flooding

on 09/09/2020

Karachi’s partial flooding has been a regular feature over the last few years but the situation this monsoon prevailed for the first time at least in almost 100 years.
This seems to be the very first point for the engineers and city planners that the new approach towards the development of the city must be inclusive in real terms.
Heaviest rains in almost a century, inundating several neighborhoods and trapping thousands of people in low-lying slums with complete cut off from power supply and all means of communication was something unprecedented. It was a catastrophe for sure.
Several development experts believe it was impossible for the current dispensation—at the center, the province, or local levels—to face such a challenge. The reasons that they put forth are (a) the quantum of rains, lack of capacity to handle the situation, faulty engineering, lack of planning, and bad governance.
Many senior engineers in the city have no doubts that it was a huge engineering failure that needs a comprehensive thought process to put things on the right track. For example, all the waterways were not only clear of the obstructions but also they were choked by the solid waste whose management has been an issue and stands far from being addressed. Therefore, most of the localities in the city’s low-lying areas were flooded. This shows a serious breach of planning and also the level of engineering.
‘Ironically, the solid waste management has been taken over by politics and no one cares asking what happened to the projects designed to address the issue,’ Says Fazlullah Qureshi, a senior retired planner.
Yet another senior engineer Engr Sohail Bashir, leading the Institution of Engineers Pakistan (IEP) says the Karachi situation was an engineering failure that exposed a lack of planning and design.
He is of the view that the management of solid waste is one of the major issues without which the rainwater could never be flushed out as this waste has choked drainage of each and every area of the city. ‘Handling this issue is a must, he says.
IEP, Karachi is now planning to organize a moot on engineering solution of Karachi, says Engr Sohail Bashir. He and many his fellow engineers and planners have long been indicating that Karachi has serious planning issues and affairs have been managed on adhocism.
But is it enough to address the issue? Maybe not, as there are many studies that Engr Bashir believes should be carried out. For instance, he says there has never been any hydraulic study of the city so that we know the topography and its features.
He says that addressing Karachi’s issues needs a new approach as the traditional approach would not work anymore.
Have a look at Naya Nazmimabad and the area near Yousuf Goth, he refers where the traditional approach created huge problems during rains.
But the question is if any new approach is being adopted by the ruling circles? It does not seem so from the decisions taken by Prime Minister Imran Khan during his Karachi visit after the floods. It only admitted that Karachi cannot be handled with the ongoing approach in which there is no nucleus in the city.
The prime minister announced an ambitious Rs1.1 trillion package for the development of the city and also set up a coordination and implementation committee led by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.
This committee will bring all stakeholders and authorities together to make key decisions, remove hurdles, and ensure their implementation.
First about the funds. Prime Minister Khan says it would be contributed by both the federal and provincial governments. There is no mention of the ratio of federal contribution. However, the Sindh government says it will contribute Rs800 billion. It means Rs313 billion will come from the federal government.
The numbers and their origin show there is nothing new about the plan as the Sindh government had already secured funds from the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and Chinese which has been put in the package. Also, a good amount if already allocated under the Private Public Partnership. Thus, the package has only been recaptioned under Karachi Package.
However, the real issue is the capacity of the executing agencies—both in civil areas and cantonment boards. There is no central body or any authority for the city. Therefore it is yet to be seen if the chief minister would be able to address this issue

Nepra Saves Choice On Tax Climb

on 07/09/2020

After questioning the justification for furnace oil-based expensive power generationNational Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) on Tuesday, reserved judgment on 86 paisa per unit increase in electricity rates demanded by ex-wapda distribution companies (Discos).

“This step was taken after having analysis regard to the statement made by National Power Control Center (NPCC) during the course of hearing”, said by the regulator after a public hearing presided over by Vice Chairman Saifullah Chatta and attended by three other members.

The case officials before finish of the conference said they proposed around 84 paisa for each unit increment in levy with an income effect of Rs12 billion. Notwithstanding, as the TV channels run tickers around 84 paisa rise, Nepra gave an announcement saying “as on today, no decision of the authority on the subject matter has been made”.

Yet, this had just made waves in the political circles. PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif emphatically responded to the implied tax increment and named it an extraordinary mercilessness.

FCCPI Blames BOI For Being Unjust with The Business Community

on 02/09/2020

The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry’s (FPCCI) capital office has criticized the Board of Investment (BOI) for restraining the business community and not giving importance to issues faced by investors.

FPCCI Coordinator Mirza Abdul Rehman said on Friday in a meeting headed by the secretary that it is board’s responsibility to facilitate the business community. He said that out of 10 speakers, eight were officials of the board though just two speakers were available from the business community.

He said that BOI is discouraging the business community as they were not giving importance to their point of view.

He said there was an overall absence of trust among investors and the relevant authorities, and it has reached on its peak after the Covid-19 lockdown.

“The specific reason of the absence of trust is that we don’t see a lot of interests in the industry or any business aside from the real-estate,” he stated, added that the present situation of the economy gives the clear the indication that the government has to correct their position in this regard and facilitate the business community and improve the climate of investments in the country on a long term basis.

He said that any of chamber or association of the region were not permitted to give a presentation. They were explicitly ignored even during the current critical situation of the economy.

NESPAK to develop Rs100 bn housing br scheme in Peshawar

on 23/08/2020

As per Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan’s vision, NESPAK is playing an active role in the housing sector and has always been ready to serve in fulfilling the Prime Minister’s dream of eliminating housing shortage in the country.
In line with the government’s policy, Pakistan Housing Authority Foundation (PHAF) has engaged NESPAK for providing engineering consultancy services for the development of a Housing Scheme at Surizai Peshawar through competitive bidding, it was told by Dr. Tahir Masood, Managing Director NESPAK here on Tuesday in a press release.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs.100 billion and it spreads over an area of 8500 Kanals. NESPAK’s scope of consultancy work includes detailed surveys and investigations, feasibility study along with the preparation of PC-I and PC-II, master planning, infrastructure design, detailed designing of houses, apartments, commercial and public amenities, preparation of detailed tender documents including cost estimates, BOQs and technical specifications, prequalification of constructors, preparation of construction drawings, assistance to Client in bid evaluation and top construction supervision. Mr. Salman Shahid, Chief Engineer, NESPAK Islamabad office is designated as the Project Manager.
Meanwhile, the NESPAK Islamabad office has been selected by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Technology Board to provide consultancy services for Pakistan Digital City Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. NESPAK’s scope of work comprises master planning, infrastructure design development, and design of a building having the covered area around 50,000 sqft. in Haripur having an area of around 86 Kanals. Tentative Project cost is around Rs. 406 million.