Ministry to submit PC-1 for new railway tracks soon

Project targets connecting Gwadar with Mastung and Basima with Jacobabad

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Railways will soon submit PC-1 for linking new railway tracks after completion of feasibility report on various routes of Pakistan Railways.

The new tracks link Gwadar to Mastung via Basdima (906 kilometres) and Basima to Jacobabad through Khuzdar (300km), a long term project envisaged for 2025-30.

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Sources in the Ministry of Railways said a feasibility study of both routes is being conducted.

"The study is at advanced stages and upon completion of the feasibility study, PC-I will be prepared for approval from the competent forum," they added.

Various land parcels required for the implementation of the said project have been identified under the aforesaid feasibility study, they said.

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They said that at present, acquisition of land in Gwadar is in progress. In this regard, 285 acres for Railways Container Yard and 73.68 acres for Right of Way (RoW) have since been acquired under the approved PC-I (Rs1,332.502 million).

Sources said approximately 200 acres additional land for Railway Station and Container Yard besides 27.350 acres RoW is being acquired under another PC-I submitted to Ministry of Railways for which Rs5.000 million has been allocated by the Planning Commission during the current financial year 2017-18.

Regarding acquisition of land from Gwadar to Mastung via Basima and from Basima to Jacobabad via Khuzdar, they said a PC-I amounting tentatively Rs5.000 million is being submitted for approval by the Planning Commission and Rs400 million has also been allocated by the Planning Commission during the financial year 2017-18 for the project’s activities.

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They said that the existing railway line from Rohri to Kohi-Taftan via Quetta, including the realignment of Sibi-Spezand section (1,022km) and rail link from Quetta to Kotla Jam (538km) is also being upgraded. The line is called ML-III, which will be used for exploitation of full capacity of the Gwadar Port and anticipated traffic from China after establishment of China-Pak Economic Corridor, they added.