Govt to exempt rules for PQA terminal

SIFC body agrees on rules exemption for handling copper, gold and other metals

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ISLAMABAD:

The government has agreed to offer exemption to Pakistan International Bulk Terminal Limited (PIBTL) for utilising its facility for the export of gold and copper extracted from Reko Diq mining project.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the executive committee of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), in a recent meeting, unanimously agreed on the provision of exemption to PIBTL for handling commodities like copper, gold, metals and other natural earth minerals.

It directed the Petroleum Division to send the case to the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) for seeking exemption and allowing Port Qasim Authority (PQA) and PIBTL to amend the implementation agreement. It will facilitate the handling and export of copper, gold and other natural earth commodities.

The SIFC body gave directives to amend the implementation agreement by March 15, 2025.

Sources said PIBTL and PQA had entered into a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract to construct, develop and operate the coal and cement terminal for 30 years. As per the agreement, PIBTL can only handle coal, clinker and cement, which are classified as dirty bulk cargo. Reko Diq Mining Company has identified PIBTL as a preferred copper concentrate export terminal (as an interim measure) until the functioning of Gwadar Port and has sought approval for using the terminal, considering it a project of national significance.

Sources said the PQA had informed the federal government that the inclusion of copper concentrate in the existing implementation agreement required PPRA exemption. However, PPRA was of the opinion that there was no requirement for exemption from rules as the agreement did not involve any procurement.

Pakistan and a Canadian firm had reached an out-of-court settlement after the former lost case in an international court. Following the settlement, Pakistan paid $900 million to Antofagasta – one of the companies involved in the settlement of Reko Diq dispute.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan had in 2013 blocked Tethyan Copper Company (TCC) – a joint venture between Chile's Antofagasta and Canada's Barrick Gold – from developing the Reko Diq project, which carried one of the world's biggest untapped deposits of copper and gold. After that, the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes ordered Pakistan's government to pay $5.8 billion in damages.

The dispute had started when Balochistan government refused to invest in line with its 25% share in Reko Diq.

At present, Pakistan is engaged in negotiations with Saudi Arabia for selling a 15% stake in the mining project.