KARACHI: Pakistan is ready to construct the multibillion-dollar ML-1 railway project after receiving a much anticipated $6 billion loan from the Exim Bank of China, a Pakistan Railways spokesperson has said.
Pakistan approved the project last year, its costliest 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.
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 railway project, known as Mainline-1 (ML-1), is meant to be built on a cost-sharing basis between Islamabad and Beijing, with major financing expected through China’s Government Concessional Loan (GCL), though Pakistani authorities will also provide about $800 million as equity for the project.
“After finalizing technical and administrative details, Pakistan sent all project documents to the Exim Bank of China through the authorities in Beijing for the approval of loan,” Pakistan Railways spokesperson Hamdan Nazir told Arab News. “The Pakistan Railways has already finalized all documents and the next milestone will be to float the tender,” he continued.
The Exim Bank of China is one of three institutional banks in China chartered to implement state policies in industry, foreign trade, economy, and foreign aid to other developing countries, and provide policy financial support to promote the export of Chinese products and services.
The ML-1 line will lay down parallel railway tracks along with existing ones that connect the port city of Karachi and Peshawar, allowing trains to run at a speed of 160-kilometer per hour instead of the usual 65 to 110 km/h. Freight trains will operate at 120 km/h after the railway system is upgraded and a computer-based signal and control technology will be introduced.
Pakistan Railways will be the proposing and implementing agency of the project and work will be awarded through open bidding as per Public Procurement Regulatory Authority (PPRA) Rules through an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract.
“All the pre-funding formalities, including preliminary feasibilities reports, have been done and tender documents have been completed,” the spokesman said, adding: “When the tender documents are accepted, the actual loan will be sanctioned.”
The country’s current railway minister Azam Khan Swati did not respond to request for comment for this article.
Pakistan awaits $6 bln loan from Exim Bank of China for ML-1 railway project
https://arab.news/56j3p
Pakistan awaits $6 bln loan from Exim Bank of China for ML-1 railway project
- Project to be built on cost-sharing basis between Islamabad and Beijing, major financing coming from China’s Government Concessional Loan
- Last year Pakistan approved the project, its costliest to date, as part of multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor agreement
Pakistani label Maria B enters Bangladesh as first international women’s brand
- Global brands produce clothing in Bangladesh but do not have official stores
- Before Maria B, Junaid Jamshed’s family fashion-oriented label opened a Dhaka store
DHAKA: Pakistani label Maria B, which opened its first branch in Dhaka this week, has become the first international women’s clothing brand to establish a presence in Bangladesh, a country that produces many of the world’s garments but lacks foreign retailers.
The second-largest apparel exporter in the world — after China — Bangladesh specializes in ready-made garments for many global brands, including H&M, Zara, and Uniqlo.
While their products are available in the market — mostly as factory leftovers — they do not have their official stores in the country.
The opening of a Maria B outlet in Dhaka marks its entry as the first international women’s fashion house in the Bangladeshi market. The other foreign brand that has its store in Bangladesh is J., a family-oriented clothing label started by the late Junaid Jamshed, an iconic Pakistani singer turned entrepreneur.
“It’s appreciable that a brand like Maria B recognized the growing market and consumer base in Bangladesh. The presence of international brands like this will also enhance the image of our local fashion market,” Shahrukh Amin, fashion designer and Bangladeshi clothing brand owner, told Arab News.
“Fashion has become something global. We can see trends from all over the world with a mobile phone in hand.”
Amin said that the Pakistani designer’s outlet had already created a “buzz” among Bangladeshi fashionistas.
“She has an individual style that is not found in the works of many other designers,” he said.
“Until her launching in Dhaka, Bangladeshi fashion lovers would purchase her dresses from Dubai, London, the US, or online preorders.”
The presence of the Pakistani brand, a globally recognized fashion house, is welcome not only because of its popularity but also because it marks the entry of the first high-end foreign designer label.
“We are living in a global city and want a global environment here,” said Maheen Khan, president of the Fashion Design Council of Bangladesh. “A famous Pakistani brand launching its operations in Dhaka is a positive development.”
It is also seen as a signal that the apparel sector, which in Bangladesh is dominated by cheap production of fast-fashion European brands, may grow and become more competitive.
“It’s a big thing because in most cases international brands don’t show much interest in coming here to Bangladesh. Even the international food chains are also not very interested in coming,” Azra Mahmood, a model and celebrated figure in Bangladesh’s fashion, told Arab News.
“The fashion industry is also a business. From that point of view, I consider it very positive that an international brand like Maria B launched its outlet in Dhaka. The more international brands come here, the better for our fashion industry.”
