The Railway Ministry has decided to move a revised summary to the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC), for allowing foreign companies to invest in railway infrastructure and new projects under the restructuring plan of Pakistan railways.
Currently, Pakistan Railways (PR) has allowed only local investors to participate in railways related projects. "Once the ECC approves the proposal, the scope of investment in railway would considerably be expanded for attracting maximum foreign investment in this sector", a source in the ministry told Business Recorder on Thursday.
PR Director Operations and Director Technical have discussed the restructuring plan with the chairman railways. During the meeting they discussed Open Access Policy (OAP) and Track Access Policy (TAP) with him, they added.
Sources further said that Railway is in dire need of investment and the government is not willing to do, due to which Pakistan Railways is looking for other alternatives for investment in this sector, sources revealed. It is learnt that The Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet had approved the participation of indigenous (locals) private train operation.
The ECC had also allowed the local investors to procure rolling stock from where, but restricted the participation of foreign investors. Seeking anonymity, a railway official told this scribe that the government is thinking to allow foreign investors to invest in railway's infrastructure and its projects. The investment would procure their own Rolling Stock Policy (RSP) including wagon and Locomotives, he added.
Meanwhile, PR is formulising the Track Access Policy at two different levels firstly a committee of Senior Most Officials of the core "Business" at the Railway Headquarters has been established to study and examine as well as to formulate the basic economic for the track access by private investors.
Source told that a meeting in this regard will be called next week, whereas, the chairman railways has directed the concerned authorities to submit the preliminary report before December 01. PR has also decided to hire a consultancy comprising of senior retired civil servants under Pakistan Railway Advisory Consultancy Services (PRACS).