Pakistan: Delay in CPEC projects may deepen mistrust among Chinese investors

Islamabad [Pakistan], October 22 : Several projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor have been facing delay due to unresolved issues as the Pakistan government is not being able to resolve the impending matters which may deepen mistrust among Chinese investors.
The Pak-China Steering Committee, in the third review meeting on the status of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, discovered the non-implementation of most of the orders passed in August, reported a local media.
According to The Express Tribune, the meeting was chaired by the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar.
The orders by the steering committee were not implemented by the Ministry of Energy, reported Tribune citing the attendees of the meeting on Wednesday.
The deadline for the Power Division to come up with a policy to sort out the delay in the beginning of "commercial operations" of as many as five CPEC power projects was set to the end of August, according to the newspaper.
"The Power Division informed the committee that proposals for the extension of commercial operation date (COD) of six power projects were under process and the matter will be discussed in the upcoming meeting of CPPA board," Tribune reported citing a statement issued by the Ministry of Planning.
The sponsors of the project remain under the threat of paying penalties under the circumstances of delay by the power producers. The newspaper however reported that the delay is partly because of the policy decisions of the government.
The newspaper reported that the Chinese investors complain about the delay in the resolution of problems by Pakistan. Besides, the hope given by the CPEC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) about soon start resolving the issues did not bring much delight to the Chinese investors as the committee proceedings still moved at a slow pace.