Chinese company wants EAD to remove its name from blacklist

LAHORE: The NINGXIA Communication Construction Co Ltd (NXCC), a leading Chinese state-owned company, has approached the Economic Affairs Division (EAD) to remove its name from the division’s website where it is listed as a “blacklisted” firm a label the company calls “factually inaccurate and damaging” to its international reputation.

The NXCC has executed several major projects in Pakistan, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-funded CAREC-III (N-55 Additional Carriageway: Rajanpur-DG Khan-DI Khan, Lots 1-4) and the Lodhran-Multan project. In an official communication to the EAD, the NXCC clarified that it has never been blacklisted in Pakistan or abroad, including in connection with the Lodhran-Multan project. The company maintained that the perception of blacklisting stems from misinformation. It emphasized that both judicial findings and arbitral proceedings have already declared the termination of the Lodhran-Multan contract unlawful and unjustified. Referring to legal proceedings initiated in 2023, the NXCC noted that the Islamabad High Court referred the dispute to arbitration. The Sole Arbitrator, Engr Zafar Hussain Siddiqui, issued an award on November 19, 2024, which the court subsequently made the Rule of Court on May 29, 2025. The NXCC confirmed that it has fully accepted the arbitral award.

The company is now awaiting the resumption of the Lodhran-Multan project and has already approached the National Highway Authority (NHA) for this purpose. In a separate correspondence, it urged the NHA to publicly reaffirm that the company has never been blacklisted and facilitate the project’s recommencement. The firm pointed out that the prolonged suspension has caused “substantial commercial, reputational, and developmental losses to all stakeholders”. It reiterated its readiness to immediately mobilize and restart work upon receiving the directive under Clause 41 of the contract.

Meanwhile, in response to the NHA’s recent request for additional documentation regarding the ongoing CAREC-III project, the NXCC has stated that all required documents had already been prepared, notarized, and submitted with its bid. The company expressed concern over new demands including payment records, bank statements, and tax certificates arguing that these went beyond the original tender requirements. Assuring full cooperation, the NXCC cautioned that discriminatory or unequal treatment of bidders would undermine transparency and discourage fair competition.