Shehbaz Sharif formally requests Chinese government to include KCR in CPEC
Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formally requested the friendly Chinese government to include Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
PM Sharif made these remarks in his speech at the Islamabad metro bus service inauguration ceremony which was attended by Charge d’ Affaires of People’s Republic of China Pang Chunxue, the Acting Ambassador.
“I request the Chinese government to reconsider Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project and support the Government of Pakistan in the construction of the project for the benefit of people of the port city,” the PM said while addressing the Chinese Acting Ambassador.
The development comes after Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah urged newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to include KCR in CPEC.
The Prime Minister had assured CM Shah that the KCR project will be included in the CPEC-related projects.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan had performed the groundbreaking for the Karachi Circular Railway project last year in September.
The Public-Private Partnership Authority (P3A) earlier this year approved the new Karachi Circular Railway project. The new KCR is being built with an estimated cost of Pakistani Rs 220 billion on the basis of a public-private partnership.
Karachi Circular Railway envisaged the construction of a 43km-long world-class affordable mass transit system using environment-friendly electric trains.
The project envisages the construction of flyovers and underpasses along the route of Karachi Circular Railway for the elimination of 22-level crossings. The project will facilitate the free movement of the KCR train.
Sharif, in his request to Beijing, underlined that the project’s completion would create great feelings for China among the people of Karachi as well as the rest of Pakistan.
The original KCR was commissioned in 1964 to help Pakistan Railways employees commute from their homes in the east of the city to the city and cantonment railway stations.
It was expanded over time and eventually evolved into a 44-km loop connecting the Karachi port and commercial areas around the city centre. The revived KCR project is expected to revamp the public transportation system of the metropolitan city of Karachi.
Sharif, who was appointed Prime Minister a week ago, also expressed gratitude towards its “all weather friend” China for “strengthening Pakistan’s economy” and supporting it on all international forums.
Inaugurated by the PM on Monday afternoon, the Islamabad Metro Bus Service project, on a stretch of 11 kilometres from Peshawar Morr to Islamabad International Airport, will benefit nearly 50,000 commuters every day. The project was supposed to be launched in 2018 but was delayed.
