Chinese power companies in Pak warn of closure over pending dues

Story by  ATV | Posted by  sabir hussain • 1 Years ago
Representational image
Representational image

 

Islamabad

Amid pending payments of Rs 300 billion, dozens of Chinese power producers in Pakistan said that they would be forced to shut down their power plants this month unless payments were made upfront.

A plethora of complaints were brought up in a meeting on Monday presided by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal with more than 30 Chinese companies operating under the flagship multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). About 25 representatives from Chinese independent power producers (IPPs) spoke one after the other and complained about the buildup of their dues and warned that without upfront payments they would shut down within days, Dawn reported.

The power producers said the authorities were pressuring them to maximize generation to meet peak summer needs, but "this is impossible for us in view of serious liquidity issues".

The Chinese companies complained of complex visa procedures for Chinese executives and taxation. There were also counter complaints from the Pakistani side as well, on delayed responses to their communications.

They also complained about the rising fuel prices, particularly that of coal. They pointed out that the prices had gone up by three to four times, which meant they should at least be given three to four times greater liquidity to make fuel arrangements.

The power producers noted that they not been paid for the power that they had produced and which have been used. They said that they are also financially crippled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and complained the tax authorities had started taxing them at higher rates, Dawn reported.

They also slammed the ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan for not fulfilling the promises made during his visit to China. The contractual requirement of a revolving fund for automatic payment of IPPs' dues and subsequent promises by the previous government remain unfulfilled, they said.