The largest metropolis in Pakistan, Karachi, will once more have a circular railway that is 44 kilometres long. The nearly Rs300 billion Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project has been approved by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).
The ECNEC meeting was presided over on Monday by Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, the federal minister of finance and revenue.
Ahsan Iqbal, the federal minister for planning, development, and special initiatives; Syed Naveed Qamar, the minister of commerce; Noor Muhammad Dummar, the minister of planning and development for Balochistan; federal secretaries; and chairman FBR attended the meeting.
ECNEC granted preliminary approval to the ministry of railways-modified PC-1 for the US$ 9,851.079 million Main Line-1 (ML-1) project upgrade by Pakistan Railways, subject to cost, technical, and ideally equity participation finance model recommendations.
From Karachi to Peshawar, the Main Line-1 (ML-1) travels through Kotri, Hyderabad, Rohri, Multan, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.
The KCR Project, with a total cost of Rs. 292,388 million and a foreign share of Rs. 263,149 million, has received approval from ECNEC in principle. The proposal calls for the development of a 44-kilometer-long, specifically designated track for a contemporary urban railway in Karachi. The track will begin at Drig Road and travel through the following locations: SITE, North Nazimabad, Liaquatabad, Federal B area, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, and lyari.
ECNEC also gave its preliminary approval to the 48 MW Shounter Hydropower Project in the AJK district of Neelum, subject to cost adjustments based on changes in the dollar exchange rate. The project is for the development of a 48 MW hydropower project on the right bank of the Neelum River’s tributary, the Baral River, in the Neelum Valley, close to the Kel town village of Shounter.
