ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The US Exim Bank has expressed strong interest in providing financing for the three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) based power plants at Baloki, Bhikki and Haveli Bahadar Shah, the Spokesman of the Ministry of Finance on Saturday.
The Spokesman, according to a press release, said that the interest was shown in a letter written by Vice President of US Exim Bank Annette Maresh to the Federal Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar.
It may be recalled that the Finance Minister had started engagement with US Exim Bank during his visit to the United States in September 2015. He met senior officials of the Bank and gave a detailed account of the business and investment opportunities in Pakistan. He urged the Bank to explore financing development projects in Pakistan. He also invited the Chairman of the Bank to visit Pakistan for the purpose.
The spokesman said that the Chairman & President of Exim Bank Fred Hochberg accepted the invitation and visited Pakistan in April 2016 along with other senior officials. The Chairman had a detailed meeting with the Finance Minister and was given detailed briefing on various upcoming projects, especially energy projects where Exim Bank could participate.
In consequence of the above efforts, the Bank has now expressed strong interest in providing financing for the three LNG based power projects. The Bank has also offered multiple financing options for the consideration of the government of Pakistan.
While welcoming the decision of US Exim Bank to finance LNG based power projects, Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar has directed the relevant government departments to work out the details of the financing at the earliest.
The decision by the Exim Bank to finance the energy projects also indicates the confidence of international institutions in economic stability and improved investment climate in the country, the spokesman concluded.
