ML-1 railway project: Pakistan, China likely to sign agreement in August

Pakistan and China are likely to sign an agreement for Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project in the first week of August, citing sources, ARY News reported on Friday.

Informed sources privy to the development told ARY News that Pakistan and China finalised the financing matters for the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project.

In October 2020, Pakistan and China had agreed to start a $10 billion Mainline-1 (ML-1) railway project from Karachi to Peshawar and extending CPEC’s scope from government-to-government to business-to-business cooperation.

Sources added that the agreement for the ML-1 project will be signed between Pakistan and China in the first week of August. The ambitious project will be completed at the cost of $6.5 billion under the agreement which was reduced from $8 billion.

Pakistan will provide 15% financing for the project. Sources told ARY News that Pakistan urged to reduce the cost of the ML-1 project.

The ML-1 project aims upgrading and doubling of the 1733-kilometre railway track from Karachi to Peshawar besides the installation of modern signaling and telecom systems. The upgradation of the railway tracks will enable the trains to run at 140kilometres per hour.

For reducing its cost, the fencing plan of entire railway track was postponed and the tracks will be fenced on in populated areas.

In the first phase, overhead bridges will be constructed and railway crossings will be closed in populated areas.

Pakistan and China had signed the Main Line-1 (ML-1) framework in May 2017 and the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the project in August 2020.

Earlier in the month, Minister for Railways Khawaja Saad Rafique said that the work on ML-1 project will begin by the end of this year.

He said the talks on ML-I project have moved ahead and hoped that an agreement on the project will be finalized by the end of current year.