ISLAMABAD -  National Accountability Bureau Chairman Justice (retired) Javed Iqbal has taken notice of the reported corruption and irregularities in the allotment of industrial and commercial plots by Gwadar Industrial Estate Development Authority.

The illegal allotment has caused millions of rupees in losses to the national kitty, a statement said.  The GEDA has not only jeopardised the economic development of the province but also the GEDA has become allegedly the Estate Agency, it said.

The authority has doled out industrial and commercial plots among their favourites and relatives, while ignoring genuine investors.

The NAB has taken notice of mega corruption causing multi-million rupee losses to the national exchequer, the statement said.

During the initial scrutiny of record that the rules had totally been ignored by the GEDA, while allotting commercial and industrial plots, it added.

The plots were distributed among favourites and relatives with the help of facilitators.

Furthermore, the files of industrial plots were sold on the basis of personal likes and dislikes by rejecting the applications of eligible industrialists and potential investors, the statement said.

The NAB chairman reiterated that the bureau was determined to bring the corrupt to justice as rapid economic development activities in Balochistan were indeed imperative for progress.

The NAB chairman said providing legal investment opportunities to all the investors in Gwadar projects were the basic requirement of economic progress of the new port.

The corrupt would not be allowed to take personal benefits from economic progress of Gwadar, he said.

The corrupt who want to jeopardise the economic progress of Gwadar would be dealt with an iron hand, the NAB chairman said.