-A delegation headed by Railway Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique will visit China this month (July) after Eid to discuss financing of $ 8.2 billion Railways and Gwadar projects with Chinese government under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Project Director/CPEC Co-ordinator Major General Dr Zahir Shah (Retd) said this while exclusively talking to this correspondent on Monday. He said, A total of $ 8.2 billion package relating to Railways and Gwadar projects would be discussed between Chinese and Pakistani governments. A delegation of Railway Ministry will go to China in the third week of this month to discuss various financing matters relating to arrangement of loan agreements and other aspects of the project."
He said that the railway project from Peshawar to Karachi would be completed in various phases and the two countries would also discuss Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) investment for Railway projects.
According to sources in Ministry of Railways, projects for rail lines along the agreed western route are included in the transport plan of CPEC and consist of ML-1, ML-2 and ML-3 through which Gwadar will be connected to Havelian in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The feasibility studies of some projects are underway and they would be completed this financial year. Some projects are early harvest; some are midterm whereas some are long-term projects.
Feasibility study for rehabilitation and up-gradation of main railway line from Peshawar to Karachi is in progress under CPEC. Up-gradation of 1,872km of railway track from Peshawar to Karachi via Kotri, Multan, Lahore, and Rawalpindi (including Taxila-Havelian)-along with dualisation of track from Shahdara to Peshawar - will also be carried out. The Ministry of Railways sources revealed that the project will be completed by 2020. A five-year plan is also being prepared for rehabilitation and improvement of railways track on the network, sources said.
CPEC will reduce the distance between China and the Middle East by thousands of kilometers enabling it to reduce its transport costs for oil and gas imports and Gwadar would become a potentially vital link in China's supply chain.