The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec) gave the approval to improve the vital Mainline-1 railway track. The committee estimated the cost of the project which is around Rs1.137 trillion.
Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the advice of the Prime Minister of finance and revenue, took the decision while presiding the meeting of the committee on Wednesday.
The committee also gave its approval to three other development projects, with a total estimated cost of Rs114 billion.
Whereas Ecnec also working on the project on the establishment of a dry port near Havelian which cost is estimated $6.807bn on cost-sharing basis between the governments of China and Pakistan, in which Chinese bank will provide 90pc of the cost of the project. And the remaining amount will be borne by the federal government. The 59pc amount of the project, i.e. Rs672bn will be spent on local material, equipment and labour costs while machinery and equipment worth is $2.7bn.
The project is divided into three phases. So as to maintain a strategic distance from responsibility charges, the credit sum for each bundle will be independently contracted.
Under this general undertaking, the current 2,655km track will be updated, said an official statement. The speed of passenger trains will increase from 65-110 kilometres for every hour to 165km every hour and line limit will increment from 34 to 137/171 trains each way per day.
A restructuring plan for Pakistan Railways has additionally been affirmed by the prime minister.
In June this year, the Central Development Working Party had suggested the project cost at $7.2bn and referred it to Ecnec for endorsement. But, the Planning Commission said on Tuesday the estimated cost referred to Ecnec for endorsement was $6.8bn. This is because of termination of the line at Peshawar instead of the earlier proposal of extending it to Torkham. The Karachi-Hyderabad section will be built on commercial lines under PPP mode. The ML-1 is a high-priority project of the government irrespective of the political divide.
The project stayed under discussion in light of its enormous budgetary effect, the US opposition to Chinese interests in Pakistan and limitations of the government under the debt sustainability perspective of the IMF.
