The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the upgrade of Pakistan Railways’ main Line-1 (ML-1) on Tuesday. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar led the committee in approving the $6.7 billion project in two phases.
The first phase, costing $3.32 billion, covers the route from Karachi to Multan. China has agreed to fund $1.1 billion for the Karachi-Hyderabad section.
Following the Prime Minister’s instructions on Saturday, the ML-1 project was divided into two phases for ECNEC’s approval. Phase-I spans 929km from Karachi to Multan.
Phase-II, totaling 797km from Multan to Peshawar with a cost of $3.36 billion, awaits confirmation of financing from sources like CPEC.
Additionally, ECNEC approved a Rs123.2 billion flood response emergency housing project. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the government will jointly fund it, with the ADB providing a $400 million loan.
This project aims to rebuild and repair over 250,000 disaster-resilient houses for people affected by floods across all districts of Sindh.
ECNEC also approved four water-sector projects, including Punjab government’s Dadhocha Dam construction. This dam will address water shortages in Rawalpindi by supplying 35 MGD of water.
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