22.3 C
Athens
Σάββατο, 2 Νοεμβρίου, 2024

Pakistan: Main Line Railways project under CPEC may be shelved due to China’s disagreements over feasibility costs

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

Due to disagreement between Islamabad and Beijing on feasibility costs, Pakistan is likely to shelve the much-talked-about Main Line (ML-1) Railways project, well-informed sources told Business Recorder. “Ministry of Railways stated that PC-1 of ML-1 project was not feasible as costs were not agreeable to the Chinese side,” the sources said adding that Minister directed that Minister for Railways should be appraised of the matter and a report should be submitted to the Ministry of Planning, Development & Special Initiatives.

Under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the ML-1 project of Pakistan Railways was the largest proposed infrastructure project in the country, to which the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) accorded approval at an estimated cost of US$ 6.8068 billion on August 5, 2020, the reports stated further.

Pakistan railway line project, Main Line (ML-1), is hanging in the balance owing to the financial delays by Exim Bank of China.

The newly-elected Shehbaz Sharif government in Pakistan has decided to abolish the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority after Chinese power producers shut down 1,980 megawatts of production capacity due to non-clearance of their Rs 300 billion dues.

According to Business Recorder, for the financial negotiation of loan terms with the Chinese side, a high-level Financing Committee headed by Deputy Chairman Planning Commission was formed under the directives of the Prime Minister which has convened eight meetings so far on the issue of financing of the ML-1 project. On April 8, 2020, a proposed term sheet comprising various terms of loan was shared with the Chinese side.

- Advertisement -

However, the final terms and conditions of the loan were to be settled after due deliberations and a negotiation process between the Financing Committees of the two countries. A formal request for the loan of Package-1 amounting to the US dollar 2.435 billion was made to the Chinese side through Economic Affairs Division (EAD) on November 25, 2020. The issue of Pakistan Railways ML-1 has been discussed at different levels in Islamabad and Beijing but both sides could not evolve a consensus on the cost of the project. The CPEC was flawed in its very construct as Chinese loans are commercial in nature and building infrastructure on these loans is dangerous. However, Pakistan failed to understand it as in 2021 also, Pakistan owed nearly half of its external payments obligations, amounting to USD 14 billion, to Chinese commercial banks, largely for CPEC projects.

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Taiwan detects 6 Chinese military aircraft, 9 vessels around territory

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported Chinese military activity near the island on Tuesday and said that by 6 am (local time), six...

China Tries to Blot out Tibetan Criticism of Mining Firm’s Damage to the Environment 

Chinese censors are trying to prevent people from viewing posts that allege severe environmental damage in Tibet caused by sand mining. A young Tibetan man...

Protests erupt in Balochistan as citizens demand justice amid rising violence

Amid ongoing atrocities and lawlessness in Balochistan, a protest took place in Buleda as residents rallied for the immediate arrest of the killers of...

Chinese armed forces are not as strong as they seem, according to experts

China is seen as a formidable power due to its robust economic growth and military expansion in recent decades, but if experts are to...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Η Ταϊβάν εντόπισε 6 κινεζικά στρατιωτικά αεροσκάφη & 9 πολεμικά πλοία σε όλη την επικράτεια

Το Υπουργείο Εθνικής Άμυνας της Ταϊβάν (MND) ανέφερε κινεζική στρατιωτική δραστηριότητα κοντά στο νησί την Τρίτη και είπε ότι μέχρι τις 6 το πρωί...

Taiwan detects 6 Chinese military aircraft, 9 vessels around territory

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported Chinese military activity near the island on Tuesday and said that by 6 am (local time), six...

Τράπεζες: Μεταφορές χρημάτων τέλος – Ο νέος τρόπος για τις συναλλαγές μας

Έρχονται αλλαγές στις μεταφορές εμβασμάτων και όλες οι ευρωπαϊκές τράπεζες θα κληθούν να ακολουθήσουν τον νέο κανονισμό της ΕΕ. Κάτι τέτοιο σημαίνει πως ο...

Νυχτερινό τιμολόγιο: Ξεκίνησε το χειμερινό ωράριο – Δείτε τις ώρες

Ήδη από χθές, Παρασκευή, έκανε την πρεμιέρα του το οικιακό τιμολόγιο με χρονοχρέωση (μειωμένο νυχτερινό) τμηματικού ωραρίου, το οποίο θα ισχύει έως και τις...