Pakistan is trying to renegotiate Belt and Road repayments after it alleged that Chinese companies had inflated power project costs by billions of dollars.

The renegotiation talks began after Islamabad released a report by a committee convened by the prime minister that accused Chinese and local power companies of “malpractices” and exaggerating costs. The financial stress caused by the coronavirus pandemic has lent the negotiations greater urgency.

The report said coal plants Huaneng Shandong Ruyi (Pakistan) Energy and Port Qasim Electric Power Company were overcharging by about $3bn over the 30-year project lifetime through inflated set-up costs and interest payments. Set-up costs alone for the two plants were inflated by more than Rs32bn ($204m) over “misrepresentation” of interest payments.