Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday chaired a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) where important decisions were made, 24NewsHD TV reported.
At the meeting, the ECC approved the Reko Diq project financing proposals. The meeting considered the summary of the final agreements and financial obligations of the Petroleum Division regarding the Reko Diq project and approved the proposed terms of these agreements. If there is any major change in the final documents of the agreements, they should be resubmitted to the ECC, it was stated at the meeting.
The ECC also considered the summary submitted by the Ministry of Railways. These included the Rail Development Agreement with Reko Diq Mining Company and the Bridge Financing Agreement. Under these agreements, bridge financing of $390 million would be provided.
The ECC said that a 1,350-kilometer-long railway track can be laid for the transportation of export goods from mines in Balochistan.
ECC Approves Proposal
The ECC directed the Ministry of Railways to share the documents of both the agreements with the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Finance were directed to submit a report on the progress of the project to the ECC by March next year.
This approval by the ECC was an expression of the government’s determination to take forward this project.
The Reko Diq project will not only open up the world’s largest undeveloped copper and gold deposits but will also create employment opportunities, promote infrastructure development and bring a lasting socio-economic prosperity to the region, the finance minister said.