By APP,
Tokyo : Japan has engaged consultants to prepare Special Project Feasibility Report (SEPROF) on mega Karachi Mass Transit Circular Railway (KMTCR) and also expressed willingness to provide loans and technical expertise for the project, said a senior official at Pakistan’s Embassy has said.
“The Economic Affairs Division and Planning Commission have granted approval for conducting the SEPROF study on the project, said the Economic Minister at Pakistan Mission Iftikhar Babar while talking to APP.
He said that the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) who will finance the SEPROF study has finalised the hiring of consultants for the purpose on September 3.
Iftikhar Babar further said that the Pakistan’s Ministry of Railways has already prepared PC-1 of the project and sent the same to the Planning Commission of Pakistan for approval.
Giving salient feature of the project Babar said that the KMTCR is a massive project worth US $ one billion.
It is proposed to be built both underground as well as on ground railways system similar to that of Japan, he added.
He said that it is not feasible to run the trains completely under ground or on elevated tracks in the thickly populated areas and due to massive construction in Karachi.
Babar however, made it clear that project details would be finalised
only after the completion of the SEPROF, which has vital importance to decide the
magnitude and quantum of the project.
Iftikhar Babar said that Japanese side is willing to extend loans and technical expertise for the project.
He said that if the project is implemented, it will help to mitigate transport problems of the ever growing metropolis of Sindh Province.