Analyzing CPEC

[ArjunPandit]

Best description of what CPEC is

629 Pakistani girls sold as brides to China

good for us...

[chetak]

China's mood chills on new Belt and Road projects in Pakistan

China's mood chills on new Belt and Road projects in Pakistan

Cautious amid economic crisis, Beijing defers oil, gas and steel offers

ADNAN AAMIR,
NOVEMBER 10, 2019



A railway worker in Karachi:


China is becoming wary of pouring more money into projects in economically unstable Pakistan.


KARACHI -- When Pakistan and China sat down recently for talks on Beijing's major Belt and Road initiative known as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the China side showed a distinct lack of enthusiasm toward pumping more money into new projects.

The two countries held the sixth round of meetings of the Joint Cooperation Committee, the apex body of CPEC, on Nov. 4-6, and it concluded without a major breakthrough on new projects.

The main development in the committee was the inauguration of Multan-Sukkur Motorway on eastern alignment of the corridor.

The delegates also discussed the $9.2 billion Main Line 1 (ML-1) railway project, the largest single project in the corridor connecting Peshawar in the northwest to Karachi in the south. They deliberated on a framework for financing the ML-1 project but failed to reach a decision. Another committee was formed to explore financing for the ML-1.

Pakistan invited China to expand the scope of CPEC by investing in the oil and gas sector, and offered to sell the loss-making Pakistan Steel Mills to China. However, China did not make any financial commitment in response to these offers.

The Pakistan government had expected China to add a number of new projects in CPEC in this round of meetings of the joint committee. This indicates that China's is taking a cautious approach toward the corridor projects. Experts said China has apparently adopted a policy of completing the existing projects in the corridor before making additional financial commitments.

Malik Siraj Akbar, a Washington, D.C., based analyst, said China has invested substantially in Pakistan, but it feels Islamabad does not have the capability and the efficient government machinery to effectively complete various projects. "[China] has decided to slow down to make sure all the ongoing [CPEC] projects are completed on time without throwing more money toward Pakistan," he told the Nikkei Asian Review.

One reason for China's cautious approach toward CPEC is the ongoing economic crisis in Pakistan. "China understands the risks of funneling so many loans to a nation that is heavily indebted and mired in a balance of payments crisis that its government appears incapable of ending," said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

He added that China will likely be cautious about new loans associated with the corridor.

China's chilliness in this round of meetings was in spite of the olive branch extended by Pakistan last month. Islamabad hastily established a CPEC authority, bypassing parliament, to fast-track work on projects in the corridor. It also announced a 23-year tax holiday for Chinese companies operating at the port of Gwadar in southwest Pakistan. However, these incentives failed to convince China to add more projects.


Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan used a special ordinance to fast-track Belt and Road projects in his country.

Experts consider these to be desperate moves to assure Beijing that Pakistan is still committed to corridor-related projects. "Through these steps, Pakistan wanted to tell the Chinese that we might be slow in overcoming our shortcomings but we are constantly trying to enhance our capacity to complete CPEC projects on time," said Akbar.

Kugelman agrees. He believes that new perks to Chinese companies won't magically allay Beijing's concerns about the financing risks associated with CPEC. "China will need to be assured that Islamabad is working to address its economic crisis, or more realistically, that Islamabad is still in a position to absorb loans even with the economic crisis in place," Kugelman told the Nikkei Asian Review.

Despite the fact that China did not make any new financial commitments, it showed its intent to firmly support existing CPEC projects. In fact, Beijing sent its biggest delegation to date to this round of meetings.

Ning Jizhe, vice chairman of the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, mentioned this point at the end of the meeting to hint at China's support for CPEC as a project.

The meeting was jointly chaired by Jizhe and Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar, Federal Minister of Planning and Development of Pakistan.

Katharine Adeney, director of the Asia Research Institute at the University of Nottingham in the U.K., said that even though many of the early infrastructure projects look unlikely to be completed, it would be a mistake to conclude that the entire project will be shut down. "It is in both China and Pakistan's interests to further this project -- a failure of CPEC would send a worrying signal to the world about China's wider [Belt and Road Initiative]," she told Nikkei.

Kugelman said that to make CPEC work, both Islamabad and Beijing will have to find ways to move forward with the project despite the difficulties.

"Publicizing their differences on CPEC would be a public relations disaster for both Pakistan and China," said Akbar. He concluded that for Pakistan, if remaining subservient to the Chinese can help it develop its infrastructure and keep "bullies" like India and America away, the relationship is worth it despite the two sides' frequent expressions of frustration.

[Rohit_K]

related -

Only a drunkard would accept these terms: Tanzania President cancels 'killer Chinese loan' worth $10 bn
https://www.ibtimes.co.in/only-drunkard ... -10-818225

Tanzania President John Magufuli has cancelled a Chinese loan worth $10 billion signed by his predecessor Jakaya Kikwete to construct a port at Mbegani creek in Bagamoyo over terms and conditions that, he said, beat the logic. Magufuli said that the terms of the Chinese loan agreement could only be accepted by a drunken man.

His predecessor, Jakaya Kikwete had signed the deal with Chinese investors to build the port on condition that they will get 30 years to guarantee on the loan and 99 years uninterrupted lease, according to local media reports.

Another shocking demand made by the Chinese and accepted by Kikwete administration was that the Tanzanian government will have absolutely no power to raise concerns on whoever invests in the port during that period.

[Manish_P]

related -

Only a drunkard would accept these terms: Tanzania President cancels 'killer Chinese loan' worth $10 bn
https://www.ibtimes.co.in/only-drunkard ... -10-818225

or a Druggie (refer to the post previous to yours)

[Mollick.R]

Pakistan’s internal report indicts China for corruption in CPEC power sector
By Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury, ET Bureau|Last Updated: May 19, 2020, 03.21 PM IST

A recently concluded probe conducted by the Imran Khan government into the anomalies of China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor has revealed that six China-funded power projects under CPEC has resulted in huge profits for Chinese firms setting up the plants through over invoicing and tariff charges compared to market rates.

ET has a copy of the probe report which also alleged that government-to-government deals signed under CPEC had unduly favoured Chinese investors. One of the six power projects was found to be 234 per cent expensive than a similar project in India, the study revealed. None of these projects were offered under bidding as it is being funded by a single country, according to inquiry report.

The inquiry report revealed that the $1.7 billion power transmission line project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was 234% expensive than a similar project in India with better technology.

The NTDC and State Grid Cooperation of China (SGCC) signed a cooperation agreement in April 2015 for development of 4,000MW, ±660 kV Matiari to Lahore High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) Transmission Line. This project is included in the priority projects under the CPEC.

The report noted that the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra), after the end of the proceeding, approved a total project cost of $1.7 billion in November 2016. Within the approved cost, $1 billion was approved for converter stations. Since the project was awarded under CPEC through government-to-government agreement, no bidding was carried out for the award of this project, according to the inquiry report.

However, a similar project was awarded in January 2017 in India through international competitive bidding at the time when Lahore-Matiari HVDC project approvals were given. The winning bidder was ABB from Zurich, the report points out. The Indian transmission line project is high in specification as well as length and is still cheaper by $360 million, according to the committee.

The Khan government has refrained from making the probe report public and this can cause a major embarrassment for both Beijing and Islamabad dubbed all-weather allies. The power sector along with Gwadar Port and highways are key pillars of the CPEC.

The report was submitted by a nine-member committee last month and the role of Chinese companies as financers and executors of the projects were scrutinised. The six power projects include both coal-fired and wind energy projects.

The committee red flagged the set-up cost of two coal-based power plants, ET has learnt from the probe report. Comparison was done between Pakistani government owned power project and one funded by the Chinese. The committee alleged that investors took out their equity upfront by over-invoicing the cost of plant and machinery, ET has further learnt.

The committee discovered $2.5-2.6 bn in excess payments were made to China and its firms in two coal-based projects under the CPEC. But irregularities were not just detected with regard to coal-based projects. Wind power projects by Hydro China and Three Gorges, another Chinese company, have also come under scanner of the committee, ET has learnt from the probe report. High tariff charged from these plants enabled corruption and excess payment to Chinese firms.

Pakistan’s planning minister Asad Umar wants to make the explosive power sector inquiry report public. But he is being opposed by the power ministry on the grounds that this will spoil ties with China.

Former Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) chairman Mohammad Ali led the inquiry committee. There are allegations that Pakistani PM aides Razak Dawood and Nadeem Baber are among the beneficiaries of the deals for CPEC power projects.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 823762.cms

[Mollick.R]

Appears to be just another instance of CPEC loot of Bhukha Nanga Pakis by Tallel Deeper Chinky Bilather......

LAHORE: A leading Chinese company has drastically slowed down work on the $2 billion 660kV high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line from Lahore to Matiari due to various problems, including differences with the government over size of a revolving fund.

The 878km Lahore-Matiari transmission line is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is the country’s first project based on direct current (DC). The line will have capacity of transmitting about 4,000MW of electricity.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1370115/chine ... ssion-line

It costs India 12000 cr Rupees (Around $1.9 billion) for double distance & 1.5 times capacity HVDC power transmission line with Swiss (ABB) equipments.

Ref. North East-Agra link which is 1,730-km-long 800 kv HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission line of of 6,000 MW capacity.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/in ... 155345.cms

(About The Indian project)
Being 800 kv, technically the line falls in UHVDC category & read in another article that the project consists of crossing/traversing total 42 rivers & working at very challenging geographical regions.

Still it costs less than the paki project for double the length.

Chinkies are just r@ping the pakies with this kind of CPEC projects at such high cost.

This matches ditto ,with those posts of mine dated 23 Nov 2017.

Cheers.


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