The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and the China Communication and Construction Company Ltd agreed to a 1.6 billion dollars circular railway project interlinking Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan Charsadda with future expansion to Swabi and a speedy service from Peshawar to Islamabad.
China Communication and Construction Company is a Chinese public sector major construction company with expertise in rail communication and infrastructure development that has undertaken and completed major projects in China and other countries.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the government of KP and China Communication and Construction Company regarding Inter Districts Circular Railway Project in KP. Special Assistant to CM for Transport Malik Shah Muhammad Wazir and of China Communications and Constructions Corporation Country Head Waing Xiaoping formally signed the MoU in a ceremony held at CM Secretariat Peshawar. Special Assistant to CM for Law Arif Yousaf, KP Economic Zones Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC) Chairman Ghulam Dastagir Akhtar, Mohsin Syed and other concerned officers were also present.
According to the memorandum, China Communication and Construction Company shall conduct a feasibility study, inclusive concept design, cost estimation and will prepare a technical and financial proposal to the provincial government in respect of the development of the project. It would also provide the technical specification to the government for the soil investigation and survey.
The government of KP shall be responsible for obtaining all approvals permits, land rights or other necessary permissions to enable the company to complete the feasibility work. The government will facilitate the company to fulfill its obligations and responsibilities by providing available relevant local technical information and other necessary documents available in respect of the project.
Under the MoU, each party shall be responsible for its own parts and expenses for the performance of its responsibilities and obligations. The financial model for the project has to be agreed between the parties prior to the commencement of the project through an agreement to be signed after fulfilling all legal and codal formalities.
The speed of the train under the project will be 220 Km/h. It is a part of contributing to the overall transportation system and planned urbanisation. It is the major step of the provincial government towards mass transit, integrating the major cities of the province. The project would have the space to be further expanded to areas and commercial hubs and industrial zones throughout the province. It is the project that will resolve the transportation problems, generate jobs leading to the overall economic revival of the province.
