ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has paid interest amounting SDR 2.815 billion to International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 1984.
This was revealed before the Senate Standing Committee on Economic Affairs which was further informed Pakistan has drawn an amount of SDR 21.789 billion against the sanctioned amount of SDR 29.673 billion since 1958 from the IMF.
The Committee which met with Saifullah Abro in the chair here on Thursday while discussing the details of IMF funds received by Pakistan from the first program until June 2024, expressed disapproval with the details provided.
‘China will help secure IMF loan’
The Committee recommended EAD that programme-wise details of IMF funds including the amount received and ratio of interest paid by Pakistan over the years should be provided to the Committee.
The committee was informed that till date Pakistan has entered into 24 programmes with the IMF. Pakistan signed its first programme in 1958 and the last one was the 2023 SBA. Apart from these programmes, Pakistan has also utilised several one-time facilities of the Fund, such as during the floods of 2010 and most recently during the Covid-19 pandemic.
As per the records available, Pakistan has drawn an amount of SDR 21,789.28 million against the sanctioned amount of SDR 29,673.15 million since 1958 from the IMF. The outstanding principal amount is SDR6369.11 million.
The Committee deliberated on the external debt project-wise, received by the Federal Government or Provincial Governments under multilateral, bilateral, and UN agencies. The Secretary for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Dr Kazim Niaz, briefed that there are a total of 298 projects, with 146 being multilateral and 152 bilateral. He added that the number of multilateral projects is larger than the number of bilateral projects.
Of the multilateral projects, 63 are World Bank projects, 54 are Asian Development Bank projects, six are IFAD projects, 14 are Islamic Development Bank projects, and 21 are European Union projects. Among the bilateral projects, 16 are funded by China, 13 by Saudi Arabia, 60 by Italy, Germany, France, and the UK, and 15 by Korea. These projects are divided into two categories: Loan and Grant Projects.
While further deliberating on the agenda item, the Chairman Committee emphasized that disbursement of the loan is to be looked after by EAD as the country is already facing this huge fiscal constraints and loans are not utilized properly and in transparent way by the departments.
There are 58 World Bank loan-financed projects in the country, officials said. A commitment of 14,806 million dollars was made for 58 projects, said officials adding that for these projects, 6 thousand 162 million dollars have been released so far.
The committee was further informed that 762 KV transmission line will be laid from Dasu to Islamabad. The World Bank has a $700 million commitment for the project.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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