Rs450b ML-1 upgrade faces financing hurdle

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal said on Friday that Pakistan's railway network urgently needs modernisation. He pointed to 399 derailments and 158 accidents in the past ten years, which he linked to worsening track conditions. The Express Tribune reported that Iqbal was reviewing funding options for the Rohri-Multan section of the ML-1 project while chairing a committee set up on the prime minister's directions.

The panel went through several financing routes, among them the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), foreign loans, public-private partnerships, lending from local commercial banks and domestic capital markets. A Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) proposal for building out the Rohri-Multan stretch with private capital was also presented, and its estimated cost exceeds Rs450 billion. Members also discussed preparing a full funding blueprint for the initiative.

Iqbal stressed that a modern, safe and efficient rail system is key to economic activity, passenger services and freight movement. He also ordered that work on the Karachi-Rohri section, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), begin in the current fiscal year, with preparatory steps completed on time.