Copper & gold project: Chinese sought Rs27b for Saindak’s transfer

Balochistan govt is unable to pay such a huge sum to Chinese company.

Balochistan govt is unable to pay such a huge sum to Chinese company. PHOTO: FILE

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The adviser to Balochistan chief minister on finance, Mir Khalid Langov, has revealed that the Chinese company MCC had demanded Rs27 billion for transfer of Saindak project to the government of Balochistan.


The company argued that it had invested Rs27 billion on exploration of copper and gold in Saindak which should be repaid to the company before the transfer of project to Balochistan government.

The adviser said Balochistan is unable to pay such a huge amount of money to the Chinese company, as the provincial government has no resources for this purpose. He said that in 10 years, the provincial government is expected to earn merely Rs10 billion from the project.

Langov said that the federal government had promised during the autonomy talks for Balochistan and other provinces to allow five per cent royalty from Saindak Mines with 30 per cent share in profit and taxes.


He claimed that the federal government had failed to fulfil its promise to date, but the Balochistan government is still hopeful on this matter.

He said the government in the next fiscal year would spend Rs4.5 billion on exploration of mines and gold in the 7km area of Reko Dik.

The amount is spent on Reko Dik as part of the Rs12 billion package for promoting investment, he added.

He expressed concern over the falling revenue of natural gas to Balochistan, claiming that the share of Balochistan in natural gas production had fallen to a mere 20 per cent.

He defended the increase in salaries and allowances of ministers, saying that the total impact will be around Rs325 million. “The purpose of increase in salary was to curb and minimize corruption.”

He said around Rs5 billion could not be used in the development programme during the current fiscal year as the allocation is non-lapsable.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2014.
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