Islamabad: Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed on Monday said that the construction work on the Main Line (ML-1) railway project was expected to begin in March 2020, a news source reported. As per details, the project involves up-gradation of the Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar railway line at a cost of USD 8.2 billion, and forms part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) initiative.
Under the up-gradation gig, more passengers will be accommodated in high-speed rail services. Further, this initiative will create around 0.1 million jobs for the youth. Rashid said that the officials concerned would submit the PC-1 of the project to the planning ministry by October 23. He added that tenders would be issued following the approval of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
The first package of the project is estimated to cost USD 2.248 billion. The cost of the second and third packages will be determined following the completion of the preliminary design.
ML-1 has achieved the status of a strategic commercial project due to it covering 75% traffic and 65% industrial areas, leading it to receiving loans on favourable terms. Several Chinese firms have reportedly expressed their interest to develop commercial plazas and shopping malls around the area on a public-private partnership basis.
