The planning ministry has refuted the Pakistan Foreign Office’s statement about the $6.7 billion Mainline-I (ML-I) project

Quoted by The Express Tribune

The Planning Ministry has disputed a statement by the Pakistan Foreign Office regarding the $6.7 billion Mainline-1 (ML-I) project which is part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)

It was claimed by the Foreign Office that the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council – ECNEC deferred the project’s approval, which the Planning Ministry denies.

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“To clarify, the ECNEC did not defer approval of the ML-1 project under the CPEC,” stated the office of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

Foreign Office stated on last Saturday
“ECNEC did not clear the re-modified PC-I for the ML-I upgrade and advised Pakistan Railways to consider preparing smaller projects and packages for financing and implementation.”

The Public renunciation of the Foreign Office’s statement by the Planning Ministry suggests internal divisions within the ruling party. The Planning Ministry maintains that there was a misunderstanding and that ECNEC did not postpone the ML-I project.

The ML-I project was considered at the ECNEC meeting, which was preceded over by Ishaq Dar, the Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. The Planning Ministry disputes the Foreign Office’s claim that ECNEC counselled Pakistan Railways to take into account smaller project packages for funding and execution.