Pakistan has no additional budget to settle dues of CPEC projects

Islamabad: Pakistan has assured the IMF that it does not plan to allocate an additional budget to settle the $1.8 billion dues of Chinese power plants built under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as the new government scrambles to revive the sinking economy, according to a media report. An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team has been in Pakistan to complete the final review of the $3 billion Standby Agreement approved for the country last year before releasing the last tranche of $1.1 billion before the end of the programme next month.

The team has met officials who are also interested in getting a fresh loan to keep the dollar-starved nation's economy afloat, The Express Tribune newspaper reported. The IMF inquired about the government's decision to allocate funds for the Chinese power plants over and above the budgeted amount of Rs48 billion for this fiscal year, said the Ministry of Energy officials. They added that the IMF was informed there was no plan to approve additional funds for retiring the outstanding debt of the Chinese power plants, the paper said.