Pakistan does not have a ‘Chinese debt problem’, says Umar

Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar on Wednesday addressed concerns over loans Islamabad has received from Beijing under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, saying Pakistan does not have a “Chinese debt problem” as claimed by a western think-tank in its report.

In a press conference flanked by CPEC Authority head Khalid Mansoor, the planning minister said the report raised questions on transparency, debt sustainability, and ‘secret loans’ to Pakistan under CPEC.

According to Umar, the report also claimed that Pakistan borrowed money from China on commercial rates.

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Speaking about the workings of the project, Umar said CPEC is a transparent project under parliamentary oversight.

The Senate Committee on Planning, NA body, and joint parliamentary body get reports about the project on a regular basis, Umar said, adding that Pakistan also shared information on CPEC loans with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Talking about power projects established under CPEC, the minister said all the information, tariff, cost and the financing structure was available on the NEPRA website.

Referring to the claims of ‘secret loans’, the minister said perhaps the report is calling the “sovereign guarantees” by the state as ‘secret loans’ as the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA) is a state-owned authority