Pakistan, China agree on RMB financing for ML-I.

Byline: Fawad Yousafzai

Islamabad -- Pakistan and China have agreed to consider use of Chinese currency RMB for financing $9 billion Karachi to Peshawar Railway ML-I and other CPEC projects instead of US dollar. In order to fundamentally resolve the financing issue, based on the important consensus reached by leaders of the two countries, the two sides agreed to drive RMB financing in CPEC projects, said the minutes of 9th JCC meeting available with The Nation. The 9th JCC meeting was held in Islamabad on November 5. The two sides recognized that financing had always been a notable bottleneck for CPEC project execution. The Chinese side has set up an inter-department work mechanism for RMB financing at the secretariat level.

In terms of ML-I, a separate work mechanism is set up under JWG on transport infrastructure, responsible for both technical issues and financing coordination. Both sides will work through their respective inter department teams to finalise the financing arrangement. The JCC was informed that the PC-I of the project was in approval stage and the bidding documents of ML-I were under process and will be finalised by December 15. The Chinese side agreed to constitute a high level committee for financing negotiations in...