LAHORE, 16 AUG (DNA) — Civil work on the $2.5 billion first phase of the Main Line-1 (ML-1) railway project is likely to begin in January 2027, as Pakistan Railways (PR) accelerates market consultations, pre-bid preparations and other processes required to meet the timeline set by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
PR has announced an online early market engagement session for Sept 8, inviting local and international civil works contractors as well as project design and monitoring consultants to discuss project readiness, procurement progress and strategy, developments since March and other matters related to the first phase.
“We are trying our level best to launch this project as early as possible. The prime minister wants its commencement by January next year by all means,” Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi told Dawn on Saturday.
He said early market engagement, international tendering, bidding, shortlisting of contractors and consultants and award of contracts could take four to five months, but PR would make every effort to have the project launched by the prime minister in January.
The first phase of ML-1 covers the 480km Karachi-Rohri/Sukkur section, where new up and down tracks will be laid along with fencing on both sides to prevent unauthorised access by people, animals and vehicles. The project is expected to take between two-and-a-half and three years to complete and will serve a corridor carrying 76 per cent of passenger and 98pc of freight traffic, besides connecting major population centres and industrial zones.
The project is expected to be financed by the Asian Development Bank, while co-financing is being explored from AIIB, EIN, the World Bank and IsDB. Its indicative scope includes civil and track works on the Keamari-Landhi-Hyderabad, Hyderabad-Nawabshah and Nawabshah-Rohri sections, including track reconstruction, limited realignments, bridges, culverts and other structures, stations, freight yards and buildings.
The plan also includes upgrading Walton Academy, signalling and telecommunications across the corridor, project management and supervision consultancy services. During engagement with contractors and consultants, discussions will cover package sizes and scope, qualification criteria and joint-venture structures, experience requirements, signalling and telecommunications packages, bid preparation periods, technical and financial weightings, risk allocation, construction under live railway operations, local industry participation and climate-resilient and digital solutions.
“Karachi-Rohri and Rohri-Multan are the most critical railway sections where most derailments and accidents take place due to the existing decaying track, which is repaired off and on at a huge cost. This is why PR has selected the Karachi-Rohri section as the first to start the ML-1 project,” a PR official told. — DNA
