China National Railway Administration (NRA) Delegation calls on Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid to discuss ML-I Railway project under CPEC
A delegation of Chinese National Railway Administration (NRA) called on Federal Minister for Pakistan Railways, Sheikh Rasheed. Delegation deliberated on 1,872Km Main Line-I Railway track up-gradation project. Sheikh Rashid appraised the Chinese delegation that Prime Minister is personally looking after the project and government is making an effort to make sure the groundbreaking ceremony could be arranged within the next six months. Worth $9.2 billion Karachi to Peshawar Railway network project is the core of CPEC, Railway Minister added. Sheikh Rashid spoke that ML-I will reduce the Karachi-Rawalpindi travel distance to 10 hours. ML-I is significant because it will jump-start the production in the country after completion in the next five years and will be eventually linked with the railway networks of Central Asia, Afghanistan, and Iran.
ISLAMABAD: A delegation led by the director-general of China’s National Railway Administration (NRA) called on the federal railways’ minister Sheikh Rasheed on Wednesday, ARY News reported.
Sheikh Rasheed and the Chinese delegation held discussions over the progress of ML-1 project for 1,872 kilometres long rail network.
During the meeting, Rasheed said Prime Minister Imran Khan is taking personal interest for early completion of the Main Line-1 project as it is the heart of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that would be constructed with the estimated cost of $9.2 billion.
The project will further enhance the friendly ties between Pakistan and China, he added.
He said that the distance between Karachi to Rawalpindi will be shrunk to 10 hours and the project will significantly help to increase the overall production of the country after its completion after the next five years. The rail network will also link China, Central Asia and Iran, he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtiar had revealed that significant progress has been made on the ML-1 project of Pakistan Railways and it has been decided to speed up work on it to launch groundbreaking in next six months.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, he said Pakistani and Chinese sides have agreed to take forward the cooperation in various sectors under China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
“JCC meeting of today remained very productive and many decisions have been taken to increase industrial cooperation between both the countries,” he added. He said the discussion was also held in-depth by both sides to enhance the steel production capacity of Pakistan.
The Minister said 300 MW power plant has been inaugurated in Gwadar and it is part of the development of the coastal city. He said the development of Gwadar and establishing a free trade zone in the city is among the foremost priorities of the government.
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