Name: Pakistan approves CPEC’s strategic $6.8 billion ML-1 railway project
Brand: gulfnews.com
SKU: gulfnews-com-36
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Pakistan approves CPEC’s strategic $6.8 billion ML-1 railway project

preview

Friday, August 7, 2020Also in this packageIslamabad: Pakistan’s most valuable and strategic project under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – US$6.8 billion railway modernization Mainline-1 (ML-1) – finally received the green signal from the country’s top economic body.The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in a meeting chaired by Finance Adviser Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh approved the railway project on a cost-sharing basis between Islamabad and Beijing, Pakistan’s finance ministry said.“The execution of the project shall be in 3 packages and in order to avoid commitment charges, the loan amount for each package will be separately contracted,” the council said. Ministry of Railways would constitute a project steering committee for effective supervision and implementation of the project.The work on the project has been planned in a way to address the concerns of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about debt sustainability. Initially, Pakistan will begin with first phase of $2.4 billion worth of construction work. The second phase costing $2.7 billion will begin a year after the first stage and the third phase costing $1.7 billion would launch two years after ‘package-1’ of ML-1, according to reports.The package-1 of the project is expected to be completed between January 2021 and December 2024 and will cover the construction of 527 km-long track between Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore. The package-2 that will upgrade the 521 km-long track from Lahore to Hyderabad will be completed between January 2022 to December 2026, while the final package-3 will upgrade the 740-km distance of Rawalpindi-Peshawar and Hyderabad-Multan track.The Karachi–Peshawar Railway Line (known as ML-1) project aimed at revamping and modernising Pakistan’s outdated railway system has been described as a “landmark project” by Pakistani officials.Asim Bajwa, Chairman of CPEC Authority, described the project as a big milestone under the second phase of CPEC. The transformational railway project would also include Havelian dry port and upgrading of Walton Academy of Pakistan Railway to meet the demand of the containerized future freight traffic and cargo handling facilities.ML-1 is one of the country’s four main railway lines managed by Pakistan Railways. It covers a length of 1,687 kilometres.Key features of ML-1 railway project- Pakistan’s existing 2,655km railway tracks will be upgraded to allow trains to move up to 165km per hour – twice as fast as now.- The line capacity will increase from 34 to over 171 trains each way per day.- Freight trains will be operated at 120 km/h- Freight trains load to be increased from 2400 to 3400 tons- ML-1 project will double the entire track from Karachi to Peshawar- Modern signalling and control system to be establishedThis website stores cookies on your computer. These cookies are used to improve your experience and provide more personalized service to you.Both on your website and other media. To find out more about the cookies and data we use, please check out our .OKGet Alerts From Gulf NewsWe’ll send you latest news updates through the day. You can manage them any time by clicking on the notification icon.Continue reading Gulf NewsDear Reader, please register to read gulfnews.comDear Reader,This section is about and essential information you cannot live without.Register to read and get full access to gulfnews.comorSign up with facebook

Friday, August 7, 2020Also in this packageIslamabad: Pakistan’s most valuable and strategic project under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – US$6.8 billion railway modernization Mainline-1 (ML-1) – finally received the green signal from the country’s top economic body.The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) in a meeting chaired by Finance Adviser Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh approved the railway project on a cost-sharing basis between Islamabad and Beijing, Pakistan’s finance ministry said.“The execution of the project shall be in 3 packages and in order to avoid...

public

Sana Jamal

We don't just cover the news - we uncover the truth. The official Twitter feed from Gulf News.

Pakistan approves CPEC’s strategic $6.8 billion ML-1 railway project

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS