In a major boost for Pakistan’s biggest mining scheme, half of the $3.5 billion debt required for the Reko Diq copper-gold project has been secured after the US Export–Import (EXIM) Bank approved a $1.25 billion facility, The News reported.
Officials now expect to achieve full financial close on the $7.7 billion venture in the first two weeks of December, ahead of a Reko Diq Mining Company (RDMC) board meeting on December 9, where final approval is considered likely. The project’s capital expenditure was initially estimated at $6.9 billion, but lenders pushed for an upward revision to $7.7 billion to build in contingencies and risk buffers.
Senior officials involved in the negotiations said $3.5 billion has already been arranged out of the $5.5 billion in commitments from multilateral lenders and export credit agencies.
“We first approached the most interested international financial institutions, EXIM banks, and export-and-import financing agencies, prioritising those offering the most competitive borrowing terms,” one official said.
