Islamabad: Pakistan Railways has designed the PC-1 of the Main Line (ML-1) Railway Project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and submitted it to the Planning Ministry for approval, a news source reported. This was revealed by Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed via a video message on Thursday, who also announced that the PC-1 for the project is worth USD 9.23 billion.
Rashid stated that the Prime Minister (PM) was informed of the progress being made on the project during a meeting on Thursday. The PM asked them to expedite the work, and get the task completed as soon as possible.
Tenders for the project will be issued once it receives approval from the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). Construction and upgradation work on the 1,800-kilometre rail track is expected to begin in March 2020.
ML-1 will increase the speed of the trains as well as the capacity for passengers and freight. It has been declared a strategic commercial project since it covers 75% traffic and 65% industrial areas. For this reason, it has received loans on favourable terms.
