News Details

18/10/2017

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak has said he himself would head a monitoring and implementation committee to ensure accelerated work on the circular railway project...

Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak has said he himself would head a monitoring and implementation committee to ensure accelerated work on the circular railway project and other road communication networks under the CPEC. The implementation and monitoring committee would see and monitor the process of implementation of different phases of projects and would ensure the quality of work to be of international standard. The committee would comprise representatives both of federal and provincial governments. He directed to convene an extraordinary meeting of the committee next week. He was presiding over a high level meeting at Chief Minister Secretariat Peshawar that focused on different phases of different projects under CPEC including the circular railway train, the inter- connectivity of six districts, Chashma Lift Irrigation Scheme, the commercial rate fixation of University Town and other projects. The circular railway project would connect the districts that included Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Malakand and Charsadda. Additional Chief Secretary, administrative secretaries and other relevant quarters attended the meeting. The Chief Minister in his brief remarks to the participants of the meeting termed these projects under the CPEC, the future of the region as both Pakistan and China were the guarantors of all the agreements. The Peshawar region mass transit circular railway project needed to be taken to the next phase as the province would take it up in the next JCC meeting in November. The project was approved for the third party evaluation and the meeting also agreed that an expert committee would keep a vigil over the activities of the circular railway track project. Under the project, 34.43 kilometer existing railway track between Peshawar and Nowshera, 23.3 KM from Nowshera to Mardan and 36.1 KM long railway track from Mardan to Charsadda would be upgraded. However, a new track of 30 KM long from Charsadda to Nowshera would be laid down. Pervez Khattak directed for the upgradation of signaling system on the existing railway track. Pak-Railway and Transport Department should prepare their own PC-Is and should be finalized in consultation with the P&D Department, he added. He reminded that every department would perform its own part of the duty. He said that the Federal Minister for Railway had already agreed to the use of existing track for the circular railway project. He directed to remove all the obstacles in the project. The meeting was told that Pak railway had already constituted its technical committee and the P&D department also notified a core committee. Both the committees would work with mutual understanding. The Chinese company was asked to open its office in Peshawar. After necessary requirements, the land acquisition process would be initiated, the participants of the meeting were informed. The Chief Minister directed to finalize all arrangements for making the project a reality. It is a project where investment would be facilitated as it was the most feasible project and his government would make two different agreements with the Pak Railway and Chinese company, he added. ======