Islamabad: The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Thursday (February 10) approved PKR 273 billion for the development of Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), news sources reported. The 43-kilometre-long dual track of the Urban Rail Mass Transit System will be built on a public-private partnership (3P) model on 33 years built-operate-transfer basis.
According to reports, the meeting approved the funding and requested that the project be cleared for 3P implementation by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). The project will be completed in three years, according to the amended timeframe. The following will be the major features of the project:
It will accommodate 457,000 people each day, with a total of one million passengers projected by the conclusion of the 33-year concession tenure
There will be electric trains running along the line six days a week. The federal government will cover 40% of the revised project cost, with the remaining funds contributed by private partners.
According to the project’s concept, the government would either lease off 13 of Pakistan Railways assets for 99 years to fund the project, with the profits going to railroads. If the railways disagree, the federal government will fund the project under the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). Aside from the KCR, the PDWP also approved:
PKR 3.28 billion for the Gujranwala Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy (Phase-II)
PKR 3.366 billion for the Social Health Protection Initiatives of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
Nauman Ahmad is an imaginative Pisces whose love for literature and nature is unparalleled. When he's not reading or hiking, he's sleeping and eating, which gives him plenty of energy for his next adventure.
