Pakistan jittery as suspense continues on energy sector loan from China
China linked to the ambitious China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Muhammad Aurangzeb, Pakistan's Minister for Finance and Revenue, and Sardar Awais Ahmad Khan Laghari, the Minister for Energy (Power Division) are both in Beijing for the last three days, media reports said here on Saturday.
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The duo is meeting one authority and agency after the other, including Pan Gongsheng, Governor People's Bank of China (PBoC), and Cao Yuanyuan, Deputy Secretary-General of National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII).
The concern is that China was initially reluctant to discuss the issue, leading to a delayed visit, signalling their disagreement with Pakistan over talks related to energy loans, media reports said.
«Pakistan formally requested China on Thursday to reschedule its debts, with outstanding dues for China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) power projects increasing by 44 per cent to Rs 401 billion by the end of the last fiscal year,» The Express Tribune newspaper said.
According to power ministry documents, as of June 2024, the outstanding dues to Chinese power plants surged to Rs 401 billion, up Rs 122 billion or 44 per cent from the previous year.
«These unpaid debts, in violation of the 2015 CPEC Energy Framework Agreement, are hindering further financial and commercial relations between the two countries,» the newspaper added.
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