Recently Yahoo News on-line picked up the following:
ADB to back Pakistan rail upgrade as China financing
stalls, sources say
Reuters - By Saeed Shah and Ariba Shahid
Fri, August 22, 2025 at 6:06 a.m. PDT
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -The Asian Development Bank will fund
upgrades to part of Pakistan's creaking railway system, replacing China, after
prolonged delays in securing financing from Beijing threatened to put a strain
on a strategic mining project, two sources said on Friday.
An extensive revamp of 1,800 km (1,118 miles) of railways has been the centrepiece of a $60 billion Chinese investment programme in Pakistan announced in 2015 as part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative global infrastructure push.
The ADB is in advanced talks to lead the financing of a $2 billion upgrade of a 500-km stretch of the railway line from Karachi to Rohri in the country's south that had previously been part of the Chinese project, two sources with direct knowledge of the discussions told Reuters.
The upgrade has become urgent, they said, as it is needed to transport copper ore from the Reko Diq mine currently being developed by Canada's Barrick Mining Corp.
"We will have a crisis. How will you evacuate output from Reko Diq? The exhausted line will come under even more pressure," one of the sources, a senior government official, said.
There was no immediate comment from Pakistan's railways ministry or China's foreign ministry.
The ADB would not confirm the finance package, which is being reported for the first time by Reuters. But it said Pakistan's government and the regional lender "have regular discussions on railway sector development".
"Any potential ADB assistance would be subject to comprehensive due diligence and consideration under ADB's policies and procedures before any commitment is made," it wrote in a statement to Reuters.
The deal, expected to be announced later this month, would see the ADB lead a consortium to finance the project and bring in an international engineering contractor to carry out the work through a competitive bidding process, the sources said.
The ADB announced $410 million in financing for the Reko Diq mine itself earlier this week. And its president is due to visit Islamabad next week, the sources said.
CHINA AND PAKISTAN: 'IRONCLAD FRIENDS'?
The sources said the plan is diplomatically tricky but has been squared with China.
"We would never do anything to jeopardise that relationship," the senior Pakistani official said.
Islamabad has fallen behind on payments for electricity generated by Chinese-built power plants. And following a government report looking at the cost of the power stations, Islamabad has for the past year sought to reschedule debt payments for the plants.
In Wang's meeting with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday, both sides said they sought to deepen ties and move on to the next phase of CPEC.
PAKISTAN'S MINING AMBITIONS
The Reko Diq copper and gold mine - at the heart of the government's strategy to attract investment to Pakistan's mining sector - is due to enter production in 2028 with anticipated annual output of some 200,000 metric ton of copper concentrate.
One of the world's largest untapped copper deposits, it is Pakistan's largest foreign investment in recent years.
The ADB-financed rail upgrade would modernise the track and bridges from the commercial capital Karachi north to Rohri, close to the city of Sukkur, so that diesel trains can run faster, the sources said.
In Rohri, the line will meet a branch coming from the area of the Reko Diq mine and will carry the copper concentrate to port.
Tim Cribb, Reko Diq's project director, told Reuters that the government and Barrick would work together on securing financing for the upgrading of the branch coming from the west to Rohri.
The mine also faces security concerns, as it lies in the insurgency-hit western province of Balochistan, with militants frequently targeting the rail network.
Translation
消息人士稱，亞洲開發銀行將資助巴基斯坦鐵路升級，因中國融資停滯
伊斯蘭堡（路透社） - 兩位消息人士週五稱，亞洲開發銀行將取代中國，為巴基斯坦部分老舊鐵路系統的升級提供資金，此前，巴基斯坦未能獲得北京方面的融資，可能給一項戰略性採礦項目帶來壓力。
2015年，中國宣布將在巴基斯坦投資600億美元，作為「一帶一路」全球基礎建設的一部分，該項目的核心內容是對1800公里（1118英里）鐵路進行大規模改造。
然而，經過十年的談判，鐵路升級項目仍未達成融資方案 - 這是與中國合作的最大单一項目。與此同時，巴基斯坦還在努力償還中國因其他項目所欠下的債務。
兩位直接了解談判情況的消息人士告訴路透社，亞洲開發銀行 (ADB)正就牽頭融資20億美元升級巴基斯坦南部卡拉奇至羅裡一段500公里鐵路線進行深入談判，該鐵路線此前曾是中國項目的一部分。
他們表示，升級工作已刻不容緩，因為需要運送 Reko Diq 礦場的銅礦石，目前由加拿大 Barrick礦業公司開發。
其中一位消息人士，一位高級政府官員說: 「我們將面臨危機。如何從 Reko Diq 送出出產？這條疲憊不堪的線路將面臨更大的壓力」。
巴基斯坦鐵道部和中國外交部均未立即發表評論。
亞洲開發銀行不願證實路透社首次通報的融資方案。但亞洲開發銀行表示，巴基斯坦政府和亞洲開發銀行「正在就鐵路產業發展進行定期討論」。
亞銀在給路透社的聲明中寫道： “任何潛在的銀行援助都將根據其政策和程序進行全面的盡職調查和考量，之後才會做出任何承諾。”
消息人士稱，該協議預計將於本月稍後宣布，由亞銀牽頭一個財團為該項目提供融資，並透過競爭性招標程序引入一家國際工程承包商來實施該項目。
亞銀本週稍早宣布將為 Reko Diq 礦提供4.1億美元的融資。消息人士稱，亞銀行長將於下週訪問伊斯蘭堡。
中國和巴基斯坦：「鐵甲般堅實朋友」?
消息人士稱，該計劃在外交上頗具技巧，但已與中國達成和解。
這位巴基斯坦高級官員表示: 「我們絕對不會做任何危及兩國關係的事情」。
自2015年啟動這項在當地被稱為「中巴經濟走廊」(CPEC) 的投資計劃以來，中國展開了多項大型電力和基礎設施項目。然而，隨著最後一個大型計劃 - 瓜達爾東灣高速公路 - 於2022年正式通車，這股勢頭已停顿。
伊斯蘭堡一直拖欠中國建造的發電廠的電費。在一份政府報告審查了這些發電站的成本後，伊斯蘭堡在過去一年裡一直試圖重組這些電廠的債務償還。
在外交部長王毅本週將訪問伊斯蘭堡之前, 中國外交部於8月19日表示：「中巴是鐵甲般堅實朋友和全天候戰略合作夥伴」。
週四，王毅在與巴基斯坦總理謝里夫的會晤中表示，雙方均表示，希望深化兩國關係，並推動中巴經濟走廊 (CPEC)下一階段的建設。
巴基斯坦的礦業雄心
Reko Diq 銅金礦是巴基斯坦政府吸引礦業投資策略的核心，預計2028年投產，預計年產銅精礦約20萬噸。
Reko Diq 礦場是世界上最大的未開發銅礦床之一，也是巴基斯坦近年來最大的外國投資。
消息人士稱，由亞銀資助的鐵路升級項目將對從商業首都卡拉奇北部到 Sukkur市附近的 Rohri 的鐵路和橋樑進行現代化改造，以提高柴油列車的運行速度。
在 Rohri，這條鐵路將與一條來自 Reko Diq 礦區的支線匯合，並將銅精礦運往港口。
Reko Diq 專案總監 Tim Cribb 告訴路透社，政府將與 Barrick 合作，為從西部通往 Rohri 的支線升級項目爭取融資。
該礦也面臨安全問題，因為它位於叛亂猖獗的西部省份 Balochistan，武裝分子經常襲擊鐵路網。
So, the Asian Development Bank will replace
China in providing funds to upgrade part of Pakistan's aging railway system.
Previously, China has rolled out major power and infrastructure projects known
locally as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, but momentum is stalled now. Currently,
Islamabad has fallen behind on payments for electricity generated by
Chinese-built power plants and is trying to reschedule debt payments for the
plants. I am wondering why China is not willing to continue to support the
upgrading of the railway system. Apparently, money is a concern.
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