ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top economic body on Wednesday approved its costliest project to date as part of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement, giving the go-ahead for a $6.8 billion project to upgrade its railway lines, the government said.
CPEC has seen Beijing pledge over $60 billion for infrastructure projects in Pakistan, central to China’s wider Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to develop land and sea trade routes in Asia and beyond.
The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approved the railway project, known as Mainline-1 (ML-1), on a cost-sharing basis between Islamabad and Beijing, Pakistan’s finance division said in a statement.
Under the project, Pakistan’s existing 2,655 km railway tracks will be upgraded to allow trains to move up to 165 km per hour — twice as fast as they currently do — while the line capacity will increase from 34 to over 150 trains each way per day.
“The execution of the project shall be in three packages and in order to avoid commitment charges, the loan amount for each package will be separately contracted.”
CPEC has come in for criticism from some western countries, particularly the United States, which says that the projects under it are not sufficiently transparent and will saddle Pakistan with the burden of expensive Chinese loans.
Both China and Pakistan have continuously downplayed such concerns over the years. The move ahead on ML-1, which has been on hold for years, will dispel notions that the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan is seeking to roll back some of the mega projects that he himself had questioned when in opposition.
At $6.8 billion, the ML-1 project alone is almost equal to Pakistan’s entire development budget for fiscal year 2020-21, which stands at Rs1.32 trillion ($7.9 billion).
Pakistan approves most expensive China-aided project to date
https://arab.news/4wh3z
Pakistan approves most expensive China-aided project to date
- At $6.8 billion, the ML-1 project alone is almost equal to Pakistan’s entire development budget for fiscal year 2020-21
- Pakistan’s 2,655 km railway tracks will be upgraded to allow trains to move up to 165 km per hour, while line capacity will increase from 34 to over 150 trains each way per day
Pakistan sells Multan Sultans for record $8.7 million ahead of PSL 11th edition
- New owner Walee Technologies plans to change franchise’s name to Rawalpindi
- PCB chairman says ‘Multan Sultans still dear to my heart, will think of something’
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday sold Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans for a record Rs2.45 billion ($8.7 million), ahead of the 11th edition of the Twenty20 tournament.
The 11th edition of the tournament will kick off on March 26, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Friday, which will feature eight franchises competing across multiple venues.
The previous owner of Multan Sultans, Ali Tareen, announced in Dec. he was walking away from the ownership of the franchise. The PCB said earlier said it will run the Multan Sultans team for the 11th edition before looking for a potential buyer.
Walee Technologies, which specializes in media, finance and technology, bought the rights for the franchise for $8.7 million at an auction held in Lahore, with local media reporting the new owner planned to change its name to Rawalpindi.
“I cannot ask the person paying Rs2.45bn to keep the name Multan Sultans,” Naqvi told reporters after the auction. “Multan Sultans is still dear to my heart, but we will think of something.”
Walee Technologies was among five bidders that participated in the auction, which came a month after Hyderabad and Sialkot joined the PSL 11th edition.
FKS, an aviation and health care conglomerate based in the US who also run the Chicago Kingsmen team, bought the Hyderabad franchise for a whopping Rs1.75 billion ($6.2 million). The other winner was OZ
Developers, a real estate consortium, which bought the Sialkot franchise for Rs1.85 billion ($6.55 million) at the auction.
The PSL has become a key pillar of the country’s cricket economy, providing financial stability to the PCB and serving as a talent pipeline for the national team.
The league, which features a mix of local and international players, already had six city-based teams, including Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators.
