Pakistan sets up committee to review ML-I project.

Byline: Shahbaz Rana

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan has set up an Implementation Committee for the multibillion dollar Mainline-I (ML-I) project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to review the possibility of reducing its scope and cost from the existing $8.2 billion aimed at making it financially viable.

The decision was taken by Cabinet Committee on CPEC, on Wednesday, which was chaired by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Khusro Bakhtyar. It was decided to split the project into more than two phases and also drop some sections that were part of the original plan of constructing 1,872 kilometre long line of Pakistan Railways.

The original plan was to construct the road between Peshawar and Karachi in two phases. The project faces over three years of delay. The cabinet committee discussed the Pakistan Railways ML-1 project in detail, said Bakhtyar while speaking to media-persons after the meeting.

'An implementation committee, headed by the railways minister was constituted to identify financial savings, phasing of the project, scope etc within two weeks in order to fast-track the project,' he added. The minister said that the final decision would be made in light of the committee recommendations.

According to the proposal, the project should be completed in more than two phases besides dropping some sections and reducing the scope of other sections. Due to change in scope, the phase-I of the project could cost around $2 billion as against Pakistan's earlier estimate of $3.4 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning officials. The Chinese consultants calculated the cost of the first phase at $4.1 billion.

The ML-I project has a total length of 1,872 kilometres.

The previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had decided to split the project into two due to its high cost and extensive work that requires refurbishment and expansion of the main railway line. The project's initial cost of $8.2 billion was based on a joint feasibility study, which was not backed by a technical design study.

The cabinet committee also discussed the possibility of financing some parts of the ML-I from the Public Sector Development Programme to lower reliance on Chinese financing.

According to the framework agreement for the ML-I, China was supposed to provide 85% of the project cost as a concessionary loan. The project has been declared strategically important by both the countries.

Bakhtyar said that the proposal to construct the...