Travelling made easy: Sindh approves circular railway project revival

Sindh government would invest only 6.5% of total amount of the project while 93% of funds would be provided by Jica.

KARACHI:

The Sindh government has approved the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project.

At a meeting at Chief Minister House on Friday, Syed Qaim Ali Shah decided that the provincial government would invest only 6.5 per cent of the total amount of the project while 93 per cent of the funds would be provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) as a soft-term loan with a markup of 0.2 per cent payable in 40 years. The scheme will be operational in four years.

The project, which was initiated by Jica, was later evaluated by American and European companies on the advice of the Planning Commission of Pakistan. The meeting was informed that the project would span over 43 kilometres while a passenger would be charged Rs25 for a full round of the journey. This would mean that the cost of travelling on the service would be 50 paisa per kilometre making it one of the cheapest modes of transport.



The provincial chief secretary said the project will be built at a cost of $2.6 billion (Rs247 billion). “All holdups have been removed and the government is committed to completing the project in three to four years,” he said, adding that private investors will also be attracted for investment once it takes physical shape.

The KCR will operate from Nipa to Nazimabad, then on to Lyari, Machhar Colony, Saddar and Kala Pul, passing through PAF museum at Sharae Faisal. He added that the trains will be available every five minutes.

The KCR will be connected to different areas of the city via the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) through which commuters living as far as Surjani Town, National Highway, Landhi, Korangi, Steel Mill and Malir will be able to access the service. “This will facilitate at least two million passengers every day,” he said.

CM Qaim Ali Shah said that the KCR is a long-awaited project and must not be delayed any longer. “There was a problem for resettlement of the affectees of the project. We have almost resolved this issue by allocating land and compensation. This will hardly cost us 2 per cent of the total amount which will be given to them by the.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2013.