Asian Development Bank, World Bank show interest in $6.8bn ML-1
ISLAMABAD: Major international lenders, including the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank (WB), have expressed interest in the 1,800km Karachi-Peshawar Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project, with its revised estimated cost of $6.8 billion following the withdrawal of Chinese financing.
A team of the Economic Affairs Division (EAD), led by Secretary Humair Karim, briefed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on EAD on the ML-1 project. The panel, presided over by Mirza Ikhtiyar Baig, was informed that the “ADB is being considered as the lead financing institution, while co-financing commitments have been made by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the World Bank,” the NA secretariat said.
It added that the European Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency had also expressed interest in the project.
The panel was told that ML-1 was not limited to the rehabilitation and upgradation of railway infrastructure; rather, the project also incorporated institutional and operational reforms aimed at improving the overall efficiency, sustainability and service delivery of Pakistan Railways. The project design had been re-evaluated to identify gaps or deficiencies and incorporate necessary improvements.
Following the reassessment, the cumulative estimated cost of the ML-1 project has been revised to approximately $6.68-6.80bn, compared with the earlier estimated cost of around $9bn.
The committee was also informed that ML-1 infrastructure was being designed to accommodate train speeds of up to 160km per hour, whereas the operational speed was presently envisaged at up to 120km per hour. The construction period targeted for completion was about three years.
The committee expressed reservations regarding the proposed operational speed and emphasised that the project should take full advantage of modern railway technologies and international standards. It stressed that the infrastructure and operational parameters should be suitably aligned to facilitate an operational speed of 160km per hour, where technically and economically feasible, rather than limiting the benefits of the upgraded infrastructure.