ISLAMABAD: The government on Thursday approved definitive agreements and financial commitments for the revised cost of $7.723 billion for the first phase of the Reko Diq Copper-Gold Project, clearing the way for formal signing within two weeks.

The Economic Coordination Commit­tee (ECC) of the cabinet, chaired by Finance Minister Muha­mmad Aurangzeb, endorsed agreements between state-owned entities (SOEs), the Balochistan government and lenders to operationalise the country’s largest mining venture.

The estimated cost for Phase-I has risen by 14 per cent from $6.765bn in March to $7.723bn, mainly due to higher financing costs following an increase in project debt and the inclusion of cost contingencies.

Financing structure

The project’s financing debt has been revised from $3bn to $3.5bn. With this increase, total shareholders’ financial commitments are projected to rise by $458m. However, if RDMC — the project company — manages to keep development close to $6.946bn, shareholders’ total contribution would reduce to $3.446bn, compared to the earlier........

© Dawn Business