ISLAMABAD: The financial challenges confronting power projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have resurfaced, with their outstanding receivables once again soaring to Rs 450 billion. This comes despite the government’s payment of Rs 100 billion ahead of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to China, sources in the Private Power & Infrastructure Board (PPIB) told Business Recorder.
The mounting dues have frustrated Chinese power companies as well as other foreign investors. According to sources, the investment firm of Qatar’s former prime minister — which poured over $1 billion into the Port Qasim Power Plant — is now urgently looking to divest its stake.
Government officials confirmed that Qatar’s Al-Thani Group has formally conveyed its intention to offload its 49% shareholding in the 1,320MW Port Qasim coal-fired power project, one of CPEC’s flagship energy ventures. The $2.09 billion plant consists of two 660MW supercritical coal units and was jointly developed by Qatar’s Al-Mirqab Capital and China’s Power Construction Corporation.
In a letter to key ministries and officials, including the PPIB managing director, Port Qasim Electric Power Company (PQEPC) CEO Wang Dongfang noted that the project has consistently supplied clean, reliable, and economical electricity to the national grid. However, he warned that total outstanding payments have reached Rs 80.8 billion — equivalent to $288 million — as of November 10, 2025, with delays exceeding six months and further escalation likely.
The CEO said that shareholders from China and Qatar are increasingly dissatisfied and have urged the government to take swift corrective measures. He stressed that PQEPC offers a favourable Energy Purchase Price (EPP) tariff compared to oil and RLNG-based plants, making timely payments critical to maintaining operations, preventing loan defaults, and upholding the federal sovereign guarantee.
In view of the deteriorating situation, PQEPC has appealed to the relevant authorities to urgently extend financial support to the Central Power Purchasing Agency-Guaranteed (CPPA-G) so that overdue payments can be cleared at the earliest, averting a crisis that could undermine one of CPEC’s most important power projects.
Story by Mushtaq Ghumman
