Sindh, Centre plan hauling Thar coal upcountry via train

Body formed to functionalise Hyderabad, Sehwan, Thar airports

KARACHI:

The provincial government of Sindh and federal government have unanimously decided to remove all the nags to start mega projects of national interest, including Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), laying of railway track to transport Thar coal to upcountry, functionalisation of different airports and resolution of land dispute between the provincial government and Civil Authority on top priority basis.

This was emerged in a meeting held between Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Federal Minister for Railways and Aviation Khawaja Saad Rafique along with their respective teams at CM House on Friday.

CM Murad said that Karachi was a megalopolis city and its traffic issues can only be solved with the establishment of a modern KCR system which will be supplemented and integrated with different BRT lines.

He said that the KCR was commissioned in 1964 and till 1984 it remained an effective mass transportation project. He said that after 1984 its operational efficiency kept deteriorating which resulted in reduction of ridership and subsequently closed in December 1999.

The CM said that the project was included in CPEC priority projects and was approved by the CPEC-related Joint Coordination Committee in December 2016. The ECNEC had approved the project at a cost of Rs207,546 million, including Chinese loan of $1.971 billion, he said. He further said that the National Railway Authority, China had approved the feasibility being in conformity with Chinese standards in November 2017.

CM Murad Ali Shah said that the project has been approved from all the relevant forums but on ground nothing has been done.

Minister for Railways Saad Rafiq said that the prime minister's visit to China is scheduled shortly where he will accompany him. He said that the KCR was on the agenda of the discussion and hopefully it will be approved.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2022.