CPEC power projects face Rs498 billion in unpaid dues as companies seek government intervention

Business Recorder reported that CPEC-linked power projects are awaiting about Rs498 billion from CPPA-G, which says it is struggling to settle those liabilities. Several developers have pressed CPPA-G and government bodies for settlement, and a few appeals have reached the Prime Minister's Office. The arrears are piling up across the corridor's energy projects, which depend on the state buyer for payment.

Port Qasim Electric Power Company, which operates a 1,320-megawatt coal-fired plant, has asked the government to step in over Rs79 billion in overdue electricity bills. In a letter dated September 29 to the finance, planning and energy ministers, chief executive Wang Dongfeng cautioned that prolonged delays could threaten the project's finances and trigger defaults on loan deals and affect the government's sovereign guarantee. The company put its receivables at Rs79 billion, or $285.4 million, with payments more than six months late.

Separately, the 1,320-megawatt Sahiwal plant's receivables have reportedly reached about Rs80 billion, and operator China Huaneng has sought Prime Minister's Office help over a capacity payment deduction dispute now around four years old. According to sources, the company has also alleged that officials pressed it to accept a negotiated give-and-take arrangement to resolve the deductions.