ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank are among the international institutions considering financing for Pakistan’s Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project, which has a revised estimated cost of between $6.68 billion and $6.80 billion.
The development was discussed during a briefing by the Economic Affairs Division before the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Economic Affairs. Officials informed the committee that the ADB was being considered as the lead financing institution, while the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and World Bank had indicated their participation through co-financing.
Several other international development institutions have also expressed interest in the project, including the European Investment Bank (EIB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
ML-1 Project Scope Revised
The committee was informed that ML-1 is not limited to the rehabilitation and upgrading of railway infrastructure. The project also includes institutional and operational reforms intended to improve the efficiency, sustainability and service delivery of Pakistan Railways.
Officials said the project design had been reassessed to identify shortcomings and incorporate required improvements. Following this review, the estimated cost was revised downward from the earlier figure of around $9 billion to approximately $6.68–$6.80 billion.
The ML-1 corridor spans around 1,800 kilometres between Karachi and Peshawar and represents a major component of Pakistan’s railway modernization plans.
Railway Speeds and Construction Timeline
Under the revised project design, the infrastructure is being planned to support train speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour. However, the currently proposed operational speed is up to 120 kilometres per hour.
The construction period is targeted at approximately three years.
During the committee meeting, members raised concerns over the proposed operational speed and called for modern railway technologies and international standards to be incorporated into the project. The committee emphasized that infrastructure and operational arrangements should be capable of supporting speeds of up to 160 kilometres per hour where technically and economically feasible.
The final financing structure, implementation arrangements and technical specifications will depend on further discussions among Pakistan and the participating international financial institutions.
