Karachi: The federal government made the decision to request Chinese authorities to provide the funding required for the recently revived Karachi Circular Railways (KCR) project, a news source reported. The officials concerned came to this conclusion during the 9th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) meeting recently held in Islamabad.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court (SC) had ordered the Pakistan Railways to complete its required work within fifteen days, and then hand over the project to the Sindh government. Following this directive, the railways administration began removing encroachments along the KCR route. However, it is important to note that when the provincial government does receive control of the transit system, it will have to run the project alongside the local train system.
Previously, the Governmnet of Japan had also agreed to offer technical and financial assistance to the KCR project. In this regard, the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) completed a pre-feasibility study in 2006, which was revalidated by M/s Scott Wilson UK in 2008 – providing recommendations to incorporate during the design-level feasibility study.
According to sources, it is expected that once KCR becomes fully operational, it will facilitate over 600,000 people by helping them commute across Karachi without the fear of traffic or congestion.
