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By APD writer Muhammad Sohail
ISLAMABAD, Nov. 2 (APD) -- China will fund and build a new track and upgrade the existing ones to connect the country’s capital with the northwest border crossing under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, an official said on Thursday.
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a flagship project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
The Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, also known as the Belt and Road Initiative, was proposed by China in 2013 with the aim of building a trade, investment, and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes.
Muhammad Hanif Gul, Divisional Superintendent Railways in the country’s northwest provincial capital of Peshawar, said that a new track will be laid down and the old ones will be upgraded between Rawalpindi, the adjacent t city of Pakistani capital Islamabad, and the Torkham border with Afghanistan.
A 41-member delegation of officials of Chinese companies had visited the existing railway track and other installations during a recent trip to Peshawar, where they received a briefing the Pakistani railway official.
The official said that three best Chinese companies were selected and given a visit and briefing so that they make their estimates and offer bids, adding that one out of three companies would be awarded the contract.
A feasibility report for the project had already been prepared and the estimated cost had already been fixed.
He said the project was finalized and groundwork on it would be launched as soon as possible.
According to the official, the existing over 1,700 kilometers double track between Karachi city and Lahore city would also be upgraded, while the single track between the cities of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar would be doubled.
China would spend up to nine billion U.S. dollars on the up gradation and overhauling of Pakistan Railways under the CPEC.
According to the plans, the groundwork on the phase-1 of the project would be started in the first half of 2018.
Currently, the speed of railway trains is 90 kilometers per hour in Pakistan, and it is expected that it would be enhanced to 120-160 kilometers per hour after the up gradation besides improving the standard of train services.
The CPEC, an estimated 50 billion U.S. dollar project, encompasses infrastructure projects involving highways, railways, and pipelines along with several energy projects, the establishment of special economic zones, and Gwadar port in Pakistan.
Since the inauguration of the CPEC by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his historic visit to Pakistan in April 2015, a number of powerful foreign investors have been rushing to Pakistan to seek benefits from the investment opportunities created by the China-backed project.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
