Lahore: The Ministry of Railways has dispatched the summary of the PC-1 for the reconstruction and expansion of the existing ML-1 project to the Planning Commission, a news source reported. The project summary totaled to USD 9.249 billion which will become part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project upon the PC-1’s finalization.
Once approval is received, the aim is to complete phase 1 of PC-2 in four years, phase 2 in five years and phase 3 in seven years. A request for tenders will be put out as well, with its completion timeframe set for three months. China is providing Pakistan with a loan for the entire project on a 30-year payback undertaking.
The feasibility report has been prepared by Ministry of Railway CPEC project head Basharat Waheed, and was sent to the Chinese government as well as the Planning Commission. Once this project is implemented, the speed of trains is expected to be increased to 160 km/hour, while the number of passenger trains will go up to 40 and cargo trains will go up to 30 by 2030.
The project will pave the way for a Karachi-Peshawar track, while various other existing tracks will be upgraded, including Multan-Lahore, Kaluwal track, Lala Musa-Rawalpindi, and Peshawar-Naushehra.
