KPK govt signs $1.6 billion railway project with Chinese company

The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and China Communication and Construction Company Ltd signed the Circular Railway Project worth $1.6 billion at Chief Minister’s Secretariat Peshawar.

The project links Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Charsadda with future expansion to Swabi and a speedy service from Peshawar to Islamabad.

China Communication and Construction Company Ltd 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 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and China Communication and Construction Company Ltd regarding Inter Districts Circular Railway Project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Special Assistant to CM for Transport, Malik Shah Muhammad Wazir and Country Head of China Communications & Constructions Corporation, Ltd. Waing Xiaoping formally signed a MoU.

Special Assistant to CM for Law, Arif Yousaf, Chairman Economic Zones Development and Management Company Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ghulam Dastagir Akhtar, Mohsin Syed and other concerned officers were also present.

According to the memorandum, China Communication and Construction Company Ltd shall conduct a feasibility study, inclusive of 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 a technical specification to the government for the soil investigation and survey.

The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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 fulfil 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 speed of the train under the project will be 220 km/hour. 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.