South Korea’s state-run policy lender Export-Import Bank of Korea plans to offer a $76 million-plus loan to Pakistan for IT-related projects including electronic intelligence, a top official told The Korea Herald on Monday.

Eximbank established the Economic Development Cooperation Fund in 1987 to support industrialization and economic growth in developing countries as well as promote bilateral economic exchanges.

“The size of the loan and project is expected to be larger than the IT Park construction project in 2017,” said the official, who requested anonymity.

The project is aimed to support Pakistan’s small-and medium-sized IT firms and bolster technology cooperation between South Korea and the South Asian country.

“But there have been discussions about expanding IT cooperation between the two countries beyond infrastructure, which led to the project taking shape,” the official added.

The project is still in its early stages due to the coronavirus pandemic, the official stressed. Key details, such as the master plan and the exact size of the loan are yet to be discussed.

Eximbank is also planning to delay debt repayment of seven loans extended to Pakistan via EDCF that face maturity this year -- there are a total of 13 of such loans extended to the country so far.

This is in line with the government’s decision, announced in April, to provide more than $400 million to developing countries for virus-related programs and delay repayment of debt from 27 developing nations.

“The debt repayment issue is being discussed via the Paris Club,” the official explained, pointing to a group of major creditor nations who seek to find solutions for payment problems that debtor economies face.

By Jung Min-kyung (mkjung@heraldcorp.com)