Pakistan's stalled China-backed rail project prompts turn to Japan

[HAIDER]

Karachi KRC and Orange line in Lahore is provincial CPEC project. Province will pay back debt but federal will give guarantee.

But for KRC to start first Sindh government will have to clear enroachments along with resettlement of people, not a easy thing to do in Karachi. They should go for slow and more expensive route of underground metro.

I think govt should quickly start KCR, before MQM or PPP start china cutting again ..

 

[Pakistansdefender]

The center would never give sovereign guarantee unless it is federal project .
Kcr was taken out every 6 months to give a false hope or toffe to silly people .
Had Sindh government been sincere they could have done something about it till now .

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

KCR project most of the railway lines and land already exist they just need to remove few mud huts and lay the track again , even a local Engineering company could have done such a simple project

 

[Kabira]

The center would never give sovereign guarantee unless it is federal project .
Kcr was taken out every 6 months to give a false hope or toffe to silly people .
Had Sindh government been sincere they could have done something about it till now .

Its all about priorities, does Sindh want to pay back $2 billion loan of KCR or rather save children in Thar? We must give PPP credit for thinking about poor instead of big infrastructure project which will only benefit Karachi.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

70 Years have past and they could not fix issues in thar and karachi , what can this PPP baz do now with 2 billion exxtra


FACTS

• Government of Pakistan gave them 7.5 Billion Dollar budget fund for whole sindh including Karachi in 2019-2020 budget
• Then they were given 1.5 Billion Extra for Karachi alone , federal government told them stop bitching take this extra 1.5 billion money for Karachi

They can't hire a company to clean Karachi, who will take 38 Million dollar 0.0043% of money allotted to them, if my memory recalls the Turkish company had done a deal with Lahore city for 38 million per year for cleanup

The allotted money is so high if they are brought to court to explain where they spent the cash they won't be able to explain



9.5 Billion Dollar combined issued to Sindh !!! in 2019-2020 budget and they can't fix issues , do you know the shit we could have bought for National defence with 10 billion dollars




News source mentions Lahore yearly cleanup budget to be around 6 arab rupees

6,000,000,000 RUPEES ~ 38 Million Dollars only per year




0.0043% not even 1 % of money Pakistan gave to Sindh can be used to clean Karachi like Paris


Where is the 99.9% money allocated to Sindh going? Is there a Mega Water Dam being constructed in Sindh ?

Is Sindh spending 3-4 billion on Space mission to Mars? Paisa kahan hai ?

 

[ghazi52]

ML-I to get back on track as govt removes bottlenecks

October 20, 2019
https://tribune.com.pk/story/208328...t-ml-get-back-track-govt-removes-bottlenecks/

Representational image of railway tracks. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: The multibillion-dollar Main Line-I (ML-I) project of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) may soon be back on track as the federal government has finally decided to take around $9 billion loans on its books, which will address a key bottleneck in securing financing for the much-delayed scheme.

The Pakistani authorities have also decided to approve the project as one umbrella scheme instead of granting phase-wise approval, according to the government sources. The Ministry of Railways will now submit the umbrella PC-I document, having an estimated cost of around $9 billion, by October 31 for consideration of the Ministry of Planning, they added.

The status of the ML-I project was also discussed during a meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa, Railways Minister Shaikh Rashid Ahmad and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The project was discussed in detail during the Joint Working Group (JWG) on transport infrastructure meeting that was held on October 10 and 11 in Islamabad. Pakistan’s Communication Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik and the Chinese Ministry of Transport Chief Planner Wang Zhiqing co-chaired the meeting. The JWG meeting was held ahead of the upcoming Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the CPEC meeting that will vet these decisions.

The Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Planning and Development have taken decisions about financing modalities and project approval strategy in consultation with the Ministry of Railways after the prime minister fixed October 31 deadline to approve the project. However, an earlier similar deadline by the premier was not honoured by the Ministry of Planning.

Initially estimated to be completed at a cost of $8.2 billion, the ML-I project was part of the early harvest projects of the CPEC. Since the beginning, the project has been facing delays due to a dispute over the nature of Chinese loans.

The ML-I project has been conceived for rehabilitation and upgrade of the Karachi-Lahore-Peshawar railway track, having a total length of 1,872 kilometres. It will double the entire track from Karachi to Peshawar and the speed of passenger trains will be increased from 65-110km per hour to 160km per hour

The freight trains will operate at a speed of 120km per hour after rehabilitation. There will be a computer-based signaling and control system.

The Ministry of Finance desired sovereign loans, which would have shifted the debt servicing and repayment responsibility on the non-existent shoulders of the Ministry of Railways. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has capped the stock of sovereign guarantees at Rs1.6 trillion besides banning the issuance of new guarantees during this fiscal year, which limited the government choices.

The railway’s ministry was in favour of a central loan that would transfer the debt payment responsibility on the shoulders of the federal government.

The government officials said that a high-level financing committee for the ML-I project has decided to take the central loan. The decision was taken after the debt sustainability analysis of the project showed that it would not have adverse implications for the country’s overall debt position. The analysis was based on the assumption that China would be formally requested to approve a minimum eight-year grace period and around 20 years repayment period for the loan, according to the officials.

Pakistan’s Financing Committee would, “promote the project financing and commencing formal loan negotiations for timely completion of ML-I project and requested constitution of a similar committee by the Chinese side to commence formal loan negotiations,” according to the minutes of the JWG on transport infrastructure meeting.

The minutes further underlined, “Pakistani side expressed that PC-I of this project, as per latest instructions of the Planning Commission, would be submitted by October 31 and would be approved expeditiously as per directives of the prime minister of Pakistan.”

The officials said that now an umbrella PC-I would be submitted to the planning ministry for approval of the Central Development Working Party and Executive Committee of National Economic Council.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had earlier decided to split the project into three phases besides reducing its scope. The ML-I is the only project of CPEC that has been declared “strategically important” by both China and Pakistan but it has already faced a delay of at least four years. The railway’s ministry had estimated the cost of package-I of the project at $2.4 billion, which will now be merged with the umbrella project.

Planning Secretary Zafar Hasan had told a parliamentary committee a couple of months back that at the time of making PSDP 2019-20, there was a thinking that the ML-I project might not be taken up in this fiscal year. He had also said that there was also a flaw in the ML-I framework agreement, which put financing issues at the end instead of taking it up upfront.

But it now seems that that the government has decided to revive the project after keeping it at backburner for over a year.

The JWG minutes further underlined that both China and Pakistan decided that the Pakistani side will complete the PC-I approval process and formulation of bidding documents at the earliest to lay the foundation for the next step towards financing negotiation. It was also decided that the project financing proposal will be reported to JCC for deliberation that will meet next month.

Once these formalities are fulfilled, the government may begin work on the mainline-I project by January or February next year, they added.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2019.

 

[ziaulislam]

Its perfectly logical for the Pakistan. But a tight slap to China, a humongous infra builder with massive funds and reach, but Japan still is the most trustworthy country to look for when building Infra.

how?
pakistan is spending up 50 billion from china..and also using other areas
japan had offered it service way back before china

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

The issue with Pakistani people is we don't visualize the Billion Dollar figure how big it is

If a Government , Provincial Government is honest they can fix every thing with 25% of 10 Billion budget and save 75% in surplus

Average Pakistani only understands 10,000 rupee , 40,000 rupees


They can't visualize the Billion Dollar figure , ~ 1.55 Kharab rupee


38 Million per city size of Lahore is what Turkish company charges
5.8 Arab rupee

Out of 1.55 Kharab rupee , can't pay 5.8 for cleanup company for yearly cleanup contract



Now think ....they were given 9.5 billion not just 1 billion how Massive the funding was given for Sindh

• 1,395,000,000,000 RUPEE (13 KHARB RUPEE) for 1 year budget can't pay 5.8 Arab rupee for cleaning company for cleaning Karachi

After collecting 13 Kharab budget if people don't have water or medicine in Sindh , lanat ho bhutto per

 

[Sulman Badshah]

Karachi circular railway was never contracted with Chinese ...

Negotaitions with japs are going on for couple of years now

 

[Max]

How many time Sindh Govt rejected JICA's offer, or JICA left bcoz of no interest. Japs are after this deal since Musharraf rule but then Pee Pee Pee happen to Karachi and rest is history.

Btw KCR change hands every new year. Nothing new, Next year it will be China again.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Is their any city on this list in Sindh which is a Model clean city ?
13 Kharab Budget ....but can't spend 0.0043% (5.8 Arab rupee ) to clean Karachi
Name 1 city which can be classified as WORLD CLASS ?


Chalo forget Karachi , Mega Metro hai , big issues rest of 39 cities in Sindh ? Any 1 City which is 5 star rating ?

• Aids virus , present in Sindh
• Dengue Virus present in Sindh
• Water not present in Karachi
• Water not present in Thar
• Food shortages when Sindh is Agricultural land

If 40 cities were contracted out to Turkish company the cost would be
216,400,000,000‬ (216 Arab rupee per year)

• Each city is given 5.8 Arab rupee for clean up (38 million dollar per city)

Note: Only 10 out of 40 cities are actually large cities but for simplicity, I allocated same funding for cleaning all 40 cities


14% of Budget allocated to Sindh can clean all cities of Sindh !!! Sparking clean
Every 40 city of Sindh would get Waste removal service like Lahore


Sindh would still have a whopping 86% Budget money remaining

1,199,700,000,000 KHARAB RUPEE WOULD BE STILL REMAINING IN ACCOUNT


Still Lot of money to pay

• Government Salaries
• Fix shools
• Fix hospitals
• Fix roads / small repair
• Clean up Railway station
• Poverty removal projects
• Subsidies and Help for Farmers
• Help companies like Steeles Mills

 

[Syed1.]

I've been hearing about KCR since I was a small child trying to bat against older boys in gully cricket in Karachi and now I'm a Masters of Engineering and married man, but KCR is still no where to be found. It is just a means for PPP to fill their coffers with not a single sleeper laid on the ground. Even 30 years from now some chief minister will be giving new deadline for completion of KCR.

 

[Lincoln]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/B...ina-backed-rail-project-prompts-turn-to-Japan

Pakistan's stalled China-backed rail project prompts turn to Japan
Regional leaders show 'buyer's remorse' over cost of Belt and Road loans

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writerOCTOBER 19, 2019 17:14 JST

KARACHI -- A regional government in Pakistan says it is open to funding from Japan for an urban railway after funding for the project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, hit a snag.

On Tuesday, Skindar Sultan Raja, head of Pakistan's state-owned railway operator, told the Senate Standing Committee on Railways that the regional government of Sindh is willing to take a loan of $2.6 billion from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, to refurbish the Karachi Circular Railway, or KCR.

Frustrated by a lack of support from China for the project, Sindh officials are looking to Japan. If the JICA loan comes through, it would be the first case where a Japanese entity takes over the funding of a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. This could strengthen the impression that CPEC is being scaled back. Experts believe it is beginning to dawn on Pakistani leaders that the much ballyhooed corridor may bring fewer benefits than expected.


"The Sindh government's shift from China to a loan deal from Japan for the KCR project shows that Pakistan is suffering from buyer's remorse," said Mohan Malik, a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. The economic burden of Chinese infrastructure projects, coupled with the potential loss of sovereign control, has clearly dampened enthusiasm for the for the corridor in Pakistan, Malik said.

The Karachi Circular Railway served commuters in Pakistan's largest metropolitan area from 1969 to 1999. In 2010, JICA began a three-year survey to assess the feasibility of reopening the loop line. The Japanese aid agency had offered a 40-year loan at a 0.2% interest rate to fund the project, but it was stymied by administrative delays.

Then, in December 2016, the Karachi Circular Railway was incorporated into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor by the Joint Cooperation Committee, co-chaired by Pakistan and China. The Orange Metro Train Lahore project was also included.

But the Karachi railway project stalled at the next step, where the Sindh government and the Chinese companies involved in the project were supposed to sign off on specific terms. This means the railway is not yet officially executed as part of the key railway project in the Pakistani portion of the Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and Road is Beijing's vast building program that aims to connect China to Central Asia and Europe.

The 43 km Karachi railway is expected to carry 700,000 passengers a day when operational. Given its importance to the city, the chief minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, repeatedly asked for the project to be funded under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Because the Sindh government does not have the money to begin the project on its own, it has been looking for outside funding, and CPEC was seen as the best available choice. From 2015 to 2018, the corridor important to regional governments as source of easy funding for large projects. Now that the central government's enthusiasm for the corridor appears to be cooled, regional governments are also looking for other external donors.

In September, Shah asked the Chinese consul general in Karachi, Wang Yu, to expedite funding for the railway as part of the corridor, and sought Yu's help in persuading Beijing to help make the Karachi loop line a reality.

But they made little headway, so Sindh officials turned again to JICA for funding. Experts believe the main reason they are looking to Japan is the low cost of its loans. While it is unclear how much Chinese loans under the corridor will cost, Pakistan Railways' Raja confirmed to the Senate committee that JICA's loan terms are more favorable than China's.

The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies' Malik said that JICA infrastructure loans usually come at a much lower interest rate than those from China. They "also generate local employment opportunities and do not require sovereign guarantees or collateral," Malik said.

Others are more broadly skeptical of government-to-government loans. Hasaan Khawar, an Islamabad-based public policy analyst, believes that obtaining loans on the open market will always result in more generous terms than bilateral loans. "In international competitive bidding, there are higher chances of getting more competitive [loans], as compared to bilateral arrangements."

The Sindh government wants to engage JICA on the project, but a deal has not been reached yet. JICA has not made any decision or official commitment on Karachi Circular Railway, Masanosuke Sakaki, a JICA official told the Nikkei Asian Review. "The Government of Japan, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, has the full authority to make such decisions," Sakaki said.

Khawar says, meanwhile, that there have not been any significant developments regarding the corridor lately. "[It] definitely doesn't seem to be that high on the priority for this government, despite the fact that there has been the talk of creating a CPEC authority and Phase-II of CPEC, covering socio-economic cooperation."

@Pakistan Space Agency @Alternatiiv @Game.Invade @Chak Bamu @The Accountant @ps3linux

The circular line, and projects in Sindh and Karachi have often been delayed, and not completed, lots of corruption is usually involved. Maybe the federal government is working in the backline, or something similar, it's only a wild guess though.

Apart from that, it's important to note that CPEC as an investment isn't a bank transfer of +$60 billion. It is a pledge. Funds are being released with time in the form of soft loans, and grants, with priorities. It's very likely that there are much more important projects on the agenda at moment which the CPEC body wants to prioritize and complete first, such as the motorways and train lines, dams, airport at Gwadar and also the port.

Also, I don't believe the circular line in Karachi was exactly meant to be part of the CPEC project. Nonetheless, if diversification can be achieved, no harm, I just hope the money injection and the contracts are monitored.

 

[Areesh]

I've been hearing about KCR since I was a small child trying to bat against older boys in gully cricket in Karachi and now I'm a Masters of Engineering and married man, but KCR is still no where to be found. It is just a means for PPP to fill their coffers with not a single sleeper laid on the ground. Even 30 years from now some chief minister will be giving new deadline for completion of KCR.

Even 300 years later the project would be at the same stage where it is today

Same is the case with all other projects of Karachi. I have given up hope even on PTI too

 

[Pakhtoon yum]

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/B...ina-backed-rail-project-prompts-turn-to-Japan

Pakistan's stalled China-backed rail project prompts turn to Japan
Regional leaders show 'buyer's remorse' over cost of Belt and Road loans

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writerOCTOBER 19, 2019 17:14 JST

KARACHI -- A regional government in Pakistan says it is open to funding from Japan for an urban railway after funding for the project under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, hit a snag.

On Tuesday, Skindar Sultan Raja, head of Pakistan's state-owned railway operator, told the Senate Standing Committee on Railways that the regional government of Sindh is willing to take a loan of $2.6 billion from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, to refurbish the Karachi Circular Railway, or KCR.

Frustrated by a lack of support from China for the project, Sindh officials are looking to Japan. If the JICA loan comes through, it would be the first case where a Japanese entity takes over the funding of a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project. This could strengthen the impression that CPEC is being scaled back. Experts believe it is beginning to dawn on Pakistani leaders that the much ballyhooed corridor may bring fewer benefits than expected.


"The Sindh government's shift from China to a loan deal from Japan for the KCR project shows that Pakistan is suffering from buyer's remorse," said Mohan Malik, a professor at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Hawaii. The economic burden of Chinese infrastructure projects, coupled with the potential loss of sovereign control, has clearly dampened enthusiasm for the for the corridor in Pakistan, Malik said.

The Karachi Circular Railway served commuters in Pakistan's largest metropolitan area from 1969 to 1999. In 2010, JICA began a three-year survey to assess the feasibility of reopening the loop line. The Japanese aid agency had offered a 40-year loan at a 0.2% interest rate to fund the project, but it was stymied by administrative delays.

Then, in December 2016, the Karachi Circular Railway was incorporated into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor by the Joint Cooperation Committee, co-chaired by Pakistan and China. The Orange Metro Train Lahore project was also included.

But the Karachi railway project stalled at the next step, where the Sindh government and the Chinese companies involved in the project were supposed to sign off on specific terms. This means the railway is not yet officially executed as part of the key railway project in the Pakistani portion of the Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and Road is Beijing's vast building program that aims to connect China to Central Asia and Europe.

The 43 km Karachi railway is expected to carry 700,000 passengers a day when operational. Given its importance to the city, the chief minister of Sindh, Murad Ali Shah, repeatedly asked for the project to be funded under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.

Because the Sindh government does not have the money to begin the project on its own, it has been looking for outside funding, and CPEC was seen as the best available choice. From 2015 to 2018, the corridor important to regional governments as source of easy funding for large projects. Now that the central government's enthusiasm for the corridor appears to be cooled, regional governments are also looking for other external donors.

In September, Shah asked the Chinese consul general in Karachi, Wang Yu, to expedite funding for the railway as part of the corridor, and sought Yu's help in persuading Beijing to help make the Karachi loop line a reality.

But they made little headway, so Sindh officials turned again to JICA for funding. Experts believe the main reason they are looking to Japan is the low cost of its loans. While it is unclear how much Chinese loans under the corridor will cost, Pakistan Railways' Raja confirmed to the Senate committee that JICA's loan terms are more favorable than China's.

The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies' Malik said that JICA infrastructure loans usually come at a much lower interest rate than those from China. They "also generate local employment opportunities and do not require sovereign guarantees or collateral," Malik said.

Others are more broadly skeptical of government-to-government loans. Hasaan Khawar, an Islamabad-based public policy analyst, believes that obtaining loans on the open market will always result in more generous terms than bilateral loans. "In international competitive bidding, there are higher chances of getting more competitive [loans], as compared to bilateral arrangements."

The Sindh government wants to engage JICA on the project, but a deal has not been reached yet. JICA has not made any decision or official commitment on Karachi Circular Railway, Masanosuke Sakaki, a JICA official told the Nikkei Asian Review. "The Government of Japan, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, has the full authority to make such decisions," Sakaki said.

Khawar says, meanwhile, that there have not been any significant developments regarding the corridor lately. "[It] definitely doesn't seem to be that high on the priority for this government, despite the fact that there has been the talk of creating a CPEC authority and Phase-II of CPEC, covering socio-economic cooperation."

@Pakistan Space Agency @Alternatiiv @Game.Invade @Chak Bamu @The Accountant @ps3linux

Lmao Karachi circular railway has being going back and forth between japan and china for a decade now. Nothing new about this. Nice propaganda piece though.

Its perfectly logical for the Pakistan. But a tight slap to China, a humongous infra builder with massive funds and reach, but Japan still is the most trustworthy country to look for when building Infra.

China doesnt care, its played a major role in inviting Saudi investors to invest in CPEC. You should know your facts before going around vomiting misinformation

70 Years have past and they could not fix issues in thar and karachi , what can this PPP baz do now with 2 billion exxtra


FACTS

• Government of Pakistan gave them 7.5 Billion Dollar budget fund for whole sindh including Karachi in 2019-2020 budget
• Then they were given 1.5 Billion Extra for Karachi alone , federal government told them stop bitching take this extra 1.5 billion money for Karachi

They can't hire a company to clean Karachi, who will take 38 Million dollar 0.0043% of money allotted to them, if my memory recalls the Turkish company had done a deal with Lahore city for 38 million per year for cleanup

The allotted money is so high if they are brought to court to explain where they spent the cash they won't be able to explain



9.5 Billion Dollar combined issued to Sindh !!! in 2019-2020 budget and they can't fix issues , do you know the shit we could have bought for National defence with 10 billion dollars




News source mentions Lahore yearly cleanup budget to be around 6 arab rupees

6,000,000,000 RUPEES ~ 38 Million Dollars only per year




0.0043% not even 1 % of money Pakistan gave to Sindh can be used to clean Karachi like Paris


Where is the 99.9% money allocated to Sindh going? Is there a Mega Water Dam being constructed in Sindh ?

Is Sindh spending 3-4 billion on Space mission to Mars? Paisa kahan hai ?

Spent on bhutto cause he's still ZinDA!!! Jia Bhutto jai butto jai butto Benazir (people of sindh)