Pinsent Masons has advised on one of the first projects to be financed under China’s ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative - Thar Block II coal mine in Pakistan and two associated 330-megawatt power plants.

The firm worked with the two project companies, the mine company (a joint venture of the Government of Sindh, Engro Corporation, various Pakistan and Chinese investors and China Machinery Engineering Corporation) and the Power company (a joint venture of Engro, CMEC and a Pakistan investor).

Funded as part of the China Pakistan Economic Cooperation’s $46 billion investment programme, the deal is CMEC’s first major overseas investment project.

The two financings comprise a mix of Chinese credit from Sinosure with additional conventional and Islamic Pakistan rupee tranches.

The team at Pinsent Masons was led by a cross border team working from Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.

One of the lead partners advising on the deal, David Platt, commented: “This is genuinely a trailblazing project for China's energy and infrastructure industries. We look forward to continuing to work with Chinese businesses and their partners as the One Belt One Road initiative develops.”