CPEC: Pakistan to return $40 billions to China as debt repayments and dividends on $26 billion investment
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ISLAMABAD -
The first ever precise estimates of the CPEC loans and returns on investment have been revealed in a report.
Pakistan will pay $40 billion to China in 20 years in shape of repayments of debt and dividends on a $26.5 billion investment under flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), documents of the Ministry of Planning and Development reveal, Tribune has reported.
Out of $39.83 billion – to be precise – the debt repayments of energy and infrastructure projects amount to $28.43 billion. The rest of $11.4 billion will be paid in shape of dividends to the investors, showed the official estimates.
The figures are significantly lower than the projections made by some private institutions, primarily because the outflows have been worked out on the basis of only $26.5 billion investment.
This suggests that unlike the claims of $50 billion to $62 billion CPEC investment, the actual investment likely to remain half of the initially announced investment figures.
The only major project that can materialise in the next few years is $8.2 billion Mainline-I Project of Pakistan Railways. The mainline project cost has not been included in these estimates.
The Ministry of Finance has also shared these estimates with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last month, confirmed a government spokesman on CPEC affairs. The country on an average will return $2 billion per annum to China.
