PESHAWAR - Two consecutive governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have signed deals to get loans worth around Rs600 billion over the past nine years, according to sources in the provincial bureaucracy. On the other hand, KP Finance Minister Taimur Salim Jhagra told this correspondent that a total of Rs330 billion loans had been received by the province till December 2021 under his tenure, while some loans are yet to come. According to the statistics, the province borrowed Rs89 billion for six projects during the first PTI government in the province under the then chief minister Pervez Khattak. This loan included Rs52.47 billion for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), around Rs14.35 billion for the renovation of roads, Rs15.97 billion for energy projects, Rs330 million for national immunization support, and Rs3.63 billion for Pehur canal extension scheme. Approximately Rs43 billion foreign loan was also returned during Khattak’s government and Rs7 billion interest on the loans were also paid. The statistics also reveal that the incumbent KP government under Chief Minister Mahmood Khan signed agreements for receiving more than Rs500 billion worth of loans for 13 projects. Of the total loans, Rs40.90 billion on 2% markup was received for nine sectors including agriculture, tourism, finance, irrigation and transport. So far, the KP govt has received Rs146 billion loans. The provincial government is expected to pay back the loans in 25 to 30 years.