Islamabad: The Minister for Planning and Development Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar said that the USD 62 billion mega-project under China Pakistan Economic Corridor should be opened for use by other countries as well, stated a news report.
He was of the view that the Chinese loans are among the USD 95 billion total outstanding foreign loans and that the government might explore new financing options for future projects. These statements came during the 56th quarterly progress review meeting which was also attended by Chinese Ambassador Yao Jing.
Bakhtiar said that a new study would be conducted to explore new mode of financing in order to undertake future project on a build, operate and transfer basis, rather than the previous engineering, procurement and construction contracts by securing loans. He also said that the government has decided to create a business council to expand the scope of consultation process.
