*ISLAMABAD:Pakistan finalised $9 billion deal with China, the singlelargest project of CPEC. *
The multibillion-dollar Main Line-I (ML-I) project of the China-PakistanEconomic Corridor (CPEC) may soon be back on track as the federalgovernment has finally decided to take around $9 billion loans on itsbooks, which will address a key bottleneck in securing financing for themuch-delayed scheme.
The Pakistani authorities have also decided to approve the project as oneumbrella scheme instead of granting phase-wise approval, according to thegovernment sources. The Ministry of Railways will now submit the umbrellaPC-I document, having an estimated cost of around $9 billion, by October 31for consideration of the Ministry of Planning, they added.
The status of the ML-I project was also discussed during a meeting betweenPrime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa,Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
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The project was discussed in detail during the Joint Working Group (JWG) ontransport infrastructure meeting that was held on October 10 and 11 inIslamabad. Pakistan’s Communication Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik and theChinese Ministry of Transport Chief Planner Wang Zhiqing co-chaired themeeting. The JWG meeting was held ahead of the upcoming Joint CooperationCommittee (JCC) of the CPEC meeting that will vet these decisions.
