The approval of the project to upgrade the 1,872 km-long railway track from Peshawar to Karachi is a big milestone for the second phase of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said Lieutenant General (retired) Asim Saleem Bajwa, chairman of the CPEC Authority.
Pakistan has approved the strategic USD 7.2 billion railway line upgradation project between Peshawar and Karachi under the CPEC, paving the way for the final negotiations with China for the finance, a media report said.
The approval of the project to upgrade the 1,872 km-long railway track from Peshawar to Karachi is a big milestone for the second phase of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said Lieutenant General (retired) Asim Saleem Bajwa, chairman of the CPEC Authority.
The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Saturday approved the Pakistan Railways’ Mainline-I (ML-1) Project, The Express Tribune reported.
Pakistan will also have to seek relaxations from the IMF, as under the existing deal with the global financial body, it does not have space to provide sovereign guarantees to the tune of Rs 1.2 trillion (USD 7.2 billion), the report said.
It was for the fourth time that the project came before the CDWP for approval. The CDWP considered the project for the first time in 2016.
After the approval, the project would go to the Executive Committee of National Economic Council for further approval, the Ministry of Planning said.
It would be finally approved by the Cabinet but the initial approval of the CDWP is considered as a key for any big project.
Once completed, the speed of passenger trains will increase from 65/110 km/h to 160 km/h on the track.
The speed of the freight trains will also increase to 120km/h from 80 kilometer per hour.
The package-1 of the ML-I will be completed between January 2021 to December 2024 and will cover the construction of 527 km-long track between Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore.
