ISLAMABAD: China has halted the release of funds for three projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) till the revision of its ‘financial mechanism’ by Beijing, Minister for Planning and Develop­ment Ahsan Iqbal confirmed on Monday.

According to an official press release issued by National Assembly Secretariat, the minister informed the 25th parliamentary committee meeting on CPEC that the Chinese side was reviewing the financial mechanism of these projects and work on them would restart after receiving approval from Beijing.

Mr Iqbal could not convince the committee members as to why the Chinese government had opted for a new financial mechanism and scrapped the previous one which was agreed upon by both countries.

Also read: CPEC delay a setback or ‘operational hiccup’?

It was reported that China had temporarily stopped funding some projects, particularly those related to the road network under CPEC, till a further decision on ‘new guidelines’ by Beijing.

When contacted, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) leader Asad Umar, who is also a member of the parliamentary committee, said he had raised the issue of suspension of Chinese funds at the meeting, which was chaired by Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed.

The members, he said, were informed that China was revising the infrastructure projects under its “financial review”.

Another member of the committee, Al-Haj Gul Khan Afridi, said they were told that China had not stopped financing the CPEC projects but raised some ‘technical objections’ to three NHA road projects. A team of Chinese experts would arrive in the country soon to inspect the three NHA projects, he added.

However, a senior NHA official rejected the government claim that work on the three road projects of the authority had been halted on technical grounds. “It is not true that China raised objections to the projects because these had already been approved at the 6th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting held last year,” he said.

Ahsan Iqbal informed the committee that the Karachi Circular Railway project had been approved for CPEC, while similar projects for Quetta and Peshawar would be reviewed in accordance with the technical feasibility reports.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2017

Opinion

Editorial

Smog hazard
Updated 05 Nov, 2024

Smog hazard

The catastrophe unfolding in Lahore is a product of authorities’ repeated failure to recognise environmental impact of rapid urbanisation.
Monetary policy
05 Nov, 2024

Monetary policy

IN an aggressive move, the State Bank on Monday reduced its key policy rate by a hefty 250bps to 15pc. This is the...
Cultural power
05 Nov, 2024

Cultural power

AS vital modes of communication, art and culture have the power to overcome social and international barriers....
Disregarding CCI
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Disregarding CCI

The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart.
Defeating TB
04 Nov, 2024

Defeating TB

CONSIDERING the fact that Pakistan has the fifth highest burden of tuberculosis in the world as per the World Health...
Ceasefire charade
Updated 04 Nov, 2024

Ceasefire charade

The US talks of peace, while simultaneously arming and funding their Israeli allies, are doomed to fail, and are little more than a charade.