ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar told the Senate on Friday that there had been a record debt servicing since the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regime took over, adding that they were paying back US$ 10 billion annually.
During the Question Hour, the minister told the House that the Country’s Foreign Exchange Reserves had increased to about US$ 20 billion. He told the State Bank of Pakistan had reserves of US$ 12 to 13 billion.
Hammad Azhar said the Foreign Exchange Reserves had increased owing to improvement in exports and remittances.
The federal minister said the Current Account had shown a surplus of US$ 1.6 billion during the first five months of Current Financial Year 2020-21 against a deficit of US$ 1.7 billion in the Corresponding Period last year.
The Minister for Industries further said the construction work on three Special Economic Zones (SEZs) under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project had been expedited.
Hammad Azhar said projects worth US$ 1.7 billion were in the phase of implementation in Gwadar under the CPEC. He said 2 projects had already been completed while 7 projects worth US$ 1.2 billion projects were in the execution phase.
