Beijing asks bankrupt Pakistan to release dues for CPEC power firms

New Delhi, March 18: The Chinese embassy in Islamabad has asked Pakistan to release overdue payments to the tune of $1.5 billion to Chinese Independent Power Plants (IPPs) working under the mega $64 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The embassy also asked the embattled country to loosen forex restrictions which pose a hurdle in coal imports due to which Chinese power plants in Punjab, Balochistan and Sindh are not working optimally.

Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune says that the urgent messages from China were conveyed to Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Syed Tariq Fatemi to the Planning Commission on March 13, 2023.