ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is in the process of finalising the agenda for the upcoming Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) under CPEC, including seeking funding for Karakoram Highway (KKH) Phase-II with a revised cost of Rs502 billion.
The JCC is scheduled to meet on September 26 in Beijing, with the wish list, including KKH-II, Mainline (ML-1), and Eastbay Expressway, on the agenda.
“We are in the process of finalising the agenda of the JCC meeting and will finalise it next week,” top official sources told The News on Friday.
Talking to The News, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal said work was in progress and would be finalised next week.
When asked about the revised cost of KKH-II, he said it was RMB 5.9 billion for 100km new alignment for section, which will be submerged into it. The realignment of KKH-II has escalated the project cost to Rs502 billion as approved by the Ecnec.
Pakistan wants financing for KKH Phase-II and the Eastbay Expressway, while a fresh request for $500 million will be placed for the Rohri–Multan section of ML-1. For the Karachi–Rohri section of ML-1, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has already agreed to extend $1.2 billion financing.
Pakistan will again approach China to secure funding for the Rohri–Multan track so that a financing consortium can be arranged jointly with the ADB.
The first phase of ML-1 will cover the Karachi–Rohri section, with contracts expected to be awarded by March 2026, aiming for completion by 2028. This section is strategically critical, as it will also be used for transporting output from the Reko Diq mining project.
For the KKH realignment, the estimated cost stands at Rs502 billion, of which China would be requested for the major chunk for financing.
The Eastbay Expressway, a 14-kilometre link connecting Reko Diq to the new Gwadar International Airport, will cost more than Rs30 billion, with Pakistan also seeking 85 percent financing from China.
In addition to infrastructure, the two sides have agreed to deepen cooperation in five priority areas — growth, green economy, regional development, livestock, and agriculture — and to pursue a multilateral financing model for ML-1.