BEIJING: The main railway line project between Karachi and Peshawar, the multi-billion-dollar ML-1, will begin as soon as possible this year, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday.
The ML-1 project was supposed to be completed in the first phase but has been pushed back over the past four years.
The minister said the previous administration didn’t do any follow-up, but we are now doing it actively. “We are hopeful that this project will start this year,” he said following a special meeting of the 12th Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of CPEC in Beijing.
He said, “The railway track has been badly damaged during the floods last year. This is the major railway line linking north and south Pakistan. We want to repair it, and we want to upgrade it as early as possible. It will be a US$10 billion project. We will do it in phases and hope to start this project as soon as possible this year.”
“The 150-year-old railway line now needs major up-gradation and modernization,” stated Ahsan Iqbal. We hope that with China’s assistance, we can upgrade this railway line connecting Karachi and Peshawar, significantly improving our logistical capabilities. He explained that the Karachi Circular Railway is a public transit project for Karachi, the largest metropolis in Pakistan. Therefore, we also decided to expedite that project.
The JCC meeting, according to Ahsan Iqbal, was extremely significant since it celebrated a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Through CPEC, a Belt and Road Initiative pilot project, China and Pakistan began a new chapter in their bilateral relationship almost ten years ago. As a result, their are investments totalling over 25 billion dollars through CPEC, and the flagship project has helped Pakistan in resolving its energy crisis.
We set up power plants totaling more than 8,000 megawatts under CPEC. Our ability to build modern highways and motorways improved connectivity throughout the nation, connected distant regions, and provided the economy with effective logistical assistance.
In addition, fiber optic cable installed between China and Pakistan has helped develop the digital infrastructure. We have also completed many socioeconomic projects with CPEC to improve people’s socioeconomic conditions, Iqbal said.
Therefore, the minister said, “This is a historic journey in which we can transform the nature of the ties between two countries and make it far more powerful in economic cooperation.”
He said they discuss how to advance CPEC in the next stage, promoting industrial cooperation, business-to-business cooperation, and Chinese private investment in Pakistan’s information technology, energy, agriculture, and mining sectors.
Ahsan Iqbal highlights opportunities in mining sector
He added in the mining sector, there are many opportunities for investors to have good business opportunities for Pakistan to take advantage of investment and technology from China.
The minister said the CPEC projects have created around 200,000 employment opportunities and helped the country overcome its energy issues.
The minister said, both nations must cooperate to share the benefits of the mega project and the whole region. And this is only possible if we finish our connectivity projects extremely quickly. With more Chinese funding, we can serve the markets. “Using our current infrastructure, we can route the world’s supply chains. Therefore, this phase will yield numerous benefits for the larger area than just Pakistan and China. He continued, “We expect South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East to profit from CPEC eventually.”
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