As constant is the only change in the corporate world, people come and go but institutions are there to stay for longer. Same goes for the National Engineering Services Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd. (NESPAK) which has attained the status of a major corporate entity in the engineering consultancy sector. NESPAK, which was established in 1973 as the premier organisation in Pakistan with the sole objective to make the country self-sufficient in the engineering consultancy sector, has entered the 48th year of its existence with professional elegance, thanks to the struggle by its studious workforce and industrious founders.

By the Grace of Allah Almighty, NESPAK's economic indicators are a welcome sign this year. NESPAK showed steady and sturdy growth in the business despite the sluggish economy hit by the Corona Pandemic. NESPAK has managed to acquire handsome business during the Financial Year 2020-21 due to its robust marketing strategy. During the year, NESPAK secured 136 projects including five (5) jobs overseas. Outside Pakistan, business was won in the Sultanate of Oman, State of Qatar and Uzbekistan. Major projects include National Program for Improvement of Watercourses in Pakistan, Phase-II, Strengthening of East-West Connectivity of Merged Areas with Settled Districts, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Integrated Tourism Development Project, Harnessing of Hill Torrents in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur, 500kV Double Circuit Transmission Line for Interconnection of K2/K3 Nuclear Power Plant with 500kV Single Circuit Port Qasim-Matiari Transmission Line, Apartment Scheme of Federal Government Employees Housing Authority at Nishtarabad, Peshawar, Infrastructure Work under FATA Infrastructure Program, Wadi Bani Khalid Road Repair Works and Cut Open Jebel Area Project, Oman and Sustainable Hydropower Project in Uzbekistan. The fee contracted from July 01, 2020 to June 30, 2021 was Rs. 13.2 billion which is 10% more than the last year's business acquisition. This is the highest ever since NESPAK's inception despite the prevailing current economic crunch. In a related development, NESPAK achieved a major breakthrough in Oman by getting certification of the Public Establishment for Industrial Estates-Madayn. The Mayadyn Certification allows NESPAK to participate in the road infrastructure tenders to help gain good projects.

NESPAK is an action-oriented organisation as timely decisions and action always bring prosperity to the Company and the people who work for it. Serious efforts are being made to explore business in the foreign lands as well as in Pakistan. The visits by NESPAK's top management including the Managing Director and colleagues to the foreign countries like Turkey and Azerbaijan are part of the plan to seek more business for NESPAK. During the Turkish tour, negotiations were held with six companies to seek cooperation in creating business opportunities for NESPAK. Steps for business exploration in Africia, Nigeria Sudan, Tanzania and Ethiopia in association with Turkey were also discussed. The high-level NESPAK meetings with top officials including heads of various companies like the CPEC Authority, the Punjab Investment Board, Port Qasim Authority etc. are other attempts to boost the Company's business.

Keeping in view the well-being and financial health of NESPAK, a Receivables Committee has been set up. The Committee has devised a comprehensive strategy to make outstanding financial recoveries from various government departments and agencies.

NESPAK strictly monitors and maintains its quality standards and working methodology through yearly audits. An effective quality management system is in place to set and achieve the performance goals. During the year, NESPAK audit officials visited various Divisions and Offices to ensure compliance with the Quality Management System (QMS). The External Surveillance Audits were also conducted in January 2021 at Karachi and Lahore Offices and in June, 2021 at Lahore and Islamabad Offices by the Lead Auditor of TUV Austria Bureau of Inspection & Certification to check compliance to the requirements of the ISO 9001:2015 Standard. No corrective action requests were raised and NESPAK Certification was recommended up to February 11, 2024. NESPAK achieved another milestone by fulfilling the requirements to acquire the certification of ISO 45001:2018 Standard for the Company after Certification Audit. This Standard provides framework to identify, control and decrease the risks associated with the health and safety of employees at the workplace. The External Audits were again conducted by the same auditor in December 2021 at the NESPAK Head Office. NESPAK has received the certifications of all the three Standards including ISO 14001:2015 & 45001:2018. We were the first engineering consultants to achieve ISO 9001 certificate in year 1998 and now these three certifications together have again put us at the top as the premier engineering consultancy organisation to be certified to all the three Standards. This will ensure confidence in our services to the Clients and enable us to obtain more projects locally and overseas.

Human resources are always the lifeline of a company. NESPAK considers professional grooming as investment in the human capital to enhance performance and business. The Company conducted 25 online trainings with nine (9) foreign trainers and 1,300 participants during the Financial Year 2020-21 to enhance skills and expertise of NESPAK employees. The number of NESPAK staff including professionals and para-professionals stands at 4,107.

The Research and Development Cell at NESPAK is primarily focussing on developing work procedures, guidelines and manuals through all the working Divisions and Offices. To date, about 70 documents/manuals on various work procedures have been prepared by the R & D Cell and 20 are in the pipeline

Having unfathomable trust in the Almighty, we are sure that we would definitely achieve what we dreamt. With the hope in our hearts, yearning in our minds and hard work in our hands, it is perceived that NESPAK will experience further growth in the days to come, in sha Allah!