The leaders of Pakistan and China agreed in November to speed up construction of the $2 billion Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) and the $10 billion Mainline-1 (ML-1) — a railway track stretching 1,872 kilometers.
Pakistan “requested strong support of National Development and Reforms Commission (NDRC) and other relevant Chinese government institutions to advance implementation of important projects like ML-1, KCR, and key energy projects in line with the leadership consensus,” according to a statement released by the Ministry of Planning and Development.
China agrees to Pakistan’s request
The political leadership of China agreed to expedite ML-1 processing during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing last year.
While in China, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal met with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and other organizations to request their help in moving forward with the construction of the Main Line-1 (ML-I), the Karachi Circular Railway (KCR), and other crucial energy projects.
He requested speedy completion of the projects at a meeting with Li Chunlin, Deputy Chairperson of China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
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