ISLAMABAD: In a major development for Pakistan and the entire region, Pakistan and China on Wednesday signed the agreement to construct the multi-billion-dollar Mainline-1 (ML-1) Railway Project to improve transportation and railway line in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s Federal Secretary for Railways, Syed Mazhar Ali Shah, confirmed the development, saying Pakistan secured a significant success regarding the ML-1 project during Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar’s visit to China.
He said the ML-1 project, which holds strategic importance within the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), will be developed using modern techniques.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the cost of the ML-1 railway project has been revised and reduced from $9 billion to $6.7 billion in Pakistan’s favor.
Pakistan’s Secretary of Railways Shah also confirmed that work on the ML-1 project would commence soon. The Secretary of Railways said that the ML-1 project will revolutionize Pakistan’s entire transportation system.
ML-1 Railway Project to Modernize Railway Line
The ML-1 project, a central component of CPEC, aims to modernize Pakistan’s 1,733 km long railway line from Karachi to Peshawar.
The project’s ambitious objective is not only to upgrade existing infrastructure but also to potentially lay new tracks to enable trains to operate at speeds of up to 160 km per hour.
پاکستان اور چین کے مابین ایم ایل ون منصوبے پر بڑی پیش رفت۔
پاکستان اور چین کے ایم ایل ون معاہدے پر دستخط۔
ایم ایل ون ایک اسٹریٹیجک منصوبہ ہے۔ سیکریٹری ریلویز
اس معاہدے سے پاکستان کا پورا ٹرانسپورٹیشن نظام تبدیل ہو جائے گا۔ سیکرٹری ریلویز @mazharkcl @GovtofPakistan pic.twitter.com/8Ee0yF6yjg
— Ministry of Railways, Government of Pakistan (@RailwaysGovPk) October 18, 2023
In addition to the agreement on the Pakistan Railway Main Line-1 project, several other key agreements were also signed, covering areas such as commerce, communication, transport, connectivity, food security, research, space cooperation, media exchanges, urban sustainable development, capacity building, mineral development, climate change, industrial cooperation, and vaccine development.
