ISLAMABAD: Chinese embassy has approached the government in support of M/s Pak Matiari-Lahore Transmission Company (Private) Limited (PMLTC) which is facing delays in payment of Rs 12 billion, well informed sources in CPEC Authority told Business Recorder.
The embassy in a letter to all the relevant entities stated that it reiterates the importance of due payment of transmission service to PMLTC, as the company is obliged to release loan principal and interest before April 15th this year, whereas the current situation of payment is far from sufficient.
According to the embassy, 660KV Matiari-Lahore high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line is the first HVDC line project, and the first private sector transmission project in Pakistan upon its commercial operation inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan himself; and it serves as the “main artery” of South-North transmission power grid, which has greatly eased the shortage of power supply in the northern part of the country, and reduced the transmission losses, significantly.
Transmission service: PMTCL demands early payment of Rs12bn dues
“In the worst scenario that PMLTC would default the Facility Agreement, more serious consequences would occur. It is therefore highly anticipated for the esteemed authority, in coordination with relevant authorities, to take imminent measures to avoid the worst scenario and facilitate PMLTC to the largest extent,” said the embassy.
Earlier, the Company’s CEO/ President, Zhang Lei, in a letter to Minister for Energy, Hammad Azhar, copies of which have also been sent SAPM on CPEC, Khalid Mansoor and other concerned authorities, raised the issue of non-payment of due amount.
Appreciating the authorities, for extending support to the 660 KV HVDC project especially in regard to arranging payment of transmission service CEO of the company stated that up to now, the company has received the Transmission Service Payment (TSP) for the month of September 2021 to November 2021, and 19.46% for December 2021.
However, in accordance with the Transmission Services Agreement (TSA), by beginning of March 2022, the company should receive the TSP from September 2021 to February 2022, along with payment for adjustment of indexation, and TSP for the pre-COD period which remains pending amounting to Rs. 21.1 billion. The payment received so far is Rs. 8.75 billion, which only makes 41.4% of the total billed amount.
According to the CEO, in accordance with the facility agreement between PMLTC and the lender (China Development Bank), the former is obliged to release loan principal and interest amounting to $ 72.2 million before April 15, 2022 without any delay.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022