The devastating flood, which wreck havoc with the infrastructures across the country, has delayed the much waited $1.58 billion Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project. Many issues related to the foreign-funded project have been left unaddressed as the flood caused another delay, which could result in increase of cost of the project, sources said.
Despite the lapse over six months, the issue of "re-lending" of around $1.58 billion fund by the Japanese government is yet to be addressed by the concerned authorities in the government. According to the sources, if the issue was not solved in time and it was released under the available procedure, the project fund would face the drastic cut of 6.8 percent "risk rate" and almost 12 percent "interest rate" making the total deduction of 18 percent from the approved fund.
The direct transfer of the amount to KUTC through the federal government, which would face an 18 percent cut, would make the project unviable, sources said, adding that the project which require to have a safe route for the transfer of fund from the foreign country while avoiding any reduction in terms of risk or interest rate.
During the last two months the high ups in the Economic Affairs Division and Planning Commission could not arrange high level meeting to settle the outstanding issues related to the Japanese funded project. Besides, the provincial revenue department, which is said to be busy handling many issues in aftermath of the floods, had yet not transferred the ownership of the land to KUTC from Malir Development Authority (MDA) and other institutions to the KCR affected people.
The department, what the sources said, was busy facing land related issues after the flood, which has devastated/ washed away hundreds of acres of agricultural/cultivable land in the province. KUTC, sources said, had amicably resolved the dispute between MDA and Pakistan Railways for clearing a location for the resettlement of thousands of affectees of KCR project.
Once the land was transferred to KUTC, the process to resettle the affectees who have occupied KCR's land along its tracks has to be started. All studies including preliminary public consultation meetings and information disclosure, demarcation survey, socio-economic survey, satellite imagery, allocation of land for resettlement sites and the environmental impact assessment etc have been completed so far.
It is to be mentioned here that the KCR project is to be funded by government of Japan through the Japan Bank of International Co-operation (JBIC). Tokyo has commissioned 100 percent funding for the project under "STEP Loan" at 0.2 percent mark-up rate for a 40-year payback time, including a 10-year grace period.
Comments
Comments are closed.