KARACHI: Interim Chief Minister retired Justice Maqbool Baqar and Vice President of China Railway Construction Company Li Samaa have agreed to settle the issues of Right of Way (RoW) and sovereignty guarantee to start the much-awaited Karachi Circular Railway, this emerged on Tuesday.

A spokesperson of the Chief Minister House told Dawn that the chief minister discussed at length the KCR project with the CRCC vice-present in China and told him that the caretaker provincial government and the railway ministry had discussed RoW issued and an agreement between the two would be achieved shortly.

The meeting was held on the sideline of “The Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation” in Beijing.

Justice Baqar said that in a review meeting of CPEC projects held on Feb 9, 2023 it was noted that the China Railway Authority required a fresh feasibility based on Chinese standards to establish funding/project cost of the KCR.

Right of Way, sovereign guarantee issues discussed by caretaker CM and CRCC vice president in Beijing meeting

The CRCC vice-chairman had urged the chief minister to settle the issues of RoW and sovereign guarantee to be issued by Pakistan government.

Justice Baqar told Mr Li Samaa that the provincial transport department had completed KCR feasibility study with the collaboration of CRCC, a state-owned company and one of the largest construction groups in the world.

He said that the sovereign guarantee had not been issued by the federal government, and added that the Sindh government through federal government would approach the Chinese authorities to speed up the KCR project.

The chief minister said that the updated feasibility study had also been submitted to the China Railway Authority through Planning Commission.

Under the updated feasibility, KCR’s circular route spans approximately 43 kilometers (27 miles), intricately connecting Karachi’s diverse landscape, including industrial zones, residential neighborhoods, and bustling commercial districts.

It weaves through various locations such as City Station, Landhi, Malir, Drigh Road and Orangi. This well-structured route played a pivotal role in reducing traffic congestion and combatting air pollution by offering a reliable alternative to road transportation.

It may be recalled that the PTI government had decided to revive the KCR on a BOT (build, operate and transfer) basis approved by the Public-Private Partnership Authority with heavy subsidies to the private partner by the government. However, the change in regime led to a change in the financial theme of the project as the Pakistan Democratic Movement-led government abandoned the PPP mode and decided to seek Chinese investment for the project under CPEC.

Consequently, the work on the first two underpasses in Gulshan-i-Iqbal by the Frontier Works Organisation, which had been awarded a contract of three underpasses, a flyover and an elevated 6.4-km-long structure along with the laying of new railway tracks, stopped after the federal government decided to execute the project under CPEC.

The KCR has a 43.2-km route, including 25.51km elevated and 17.7km on-ground, and it would have 24 stations (13 elevated and 11 on-ground). The project will have a dual track with 162 train sets.

Initiated in 1964, the old KCR route started from Drigh Road and ended in downtown Karachi. After suffering losses for years, it ceased operations in 1999.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2023