KARACHI, July 22: A meeting to deliberate on the issue of the revival of the Karachi Circular Railway has been scheduled for Wednesday.
Sources close to the transport department said that the railway ministry would give a presentation on the KCR in the meeting to be presided over by railways minister Ghous Bux Mehar and attended by the Sindh chief secretary, the additional chief secretary, the DG KMTP, the EDO transport, the divisional superintendent of the railways and other railway ministry officials.
Another meeting has been convened by the Sindh chief secretary at his office in the afternoon regarding the removal of encroachment on the KCR land. It will be attended by the additional chief secretary, the DCO Karachi, the DG KMTP, the EDO transport and communications and other officials.
A presentation about the current situation of encroachment upon the KCR land would be given at the meeting where the possible steps to remove encroachment would be discussed. The sources said that a proposal to commercialize the KCR land to generate resources to launch the KCR project would also come under discussion.
LOCOMOTIVES: The first consignment of eight out of the 69 Chinese locomotives arriving from China will be handed over to the Pakistan Railways at a ceremony to be held at Loco Shed at the Cantonment railway station here on Wednesday, adds APP.
The federal railway minister, Ghous Bux Khan Mahar, will be the chief guest on the occasion.
Besides others the ceremony will be attended by the chairman Pakistan railways and senior officials from the railway headquarters Lahore and the Karachi railway division.
The locomotives are being supplied by China in response to an international tender, a contract for procurement manufacture of 69 locomotives.
The agreement for supply of 44 locomotives of 3500 H.P and 25 of 2500 H.P, was signed with China in 2001.
Under this agreement, 15 Locomotives - eight of 3000 H.P and seven of 2500 H.P are being imported in completely built-up (CBU) condition for extensive trials to test their performances in our ambient/operating conditions.
Over 12,000 locomotives built by the Chinese manufacturers for speed upto 180 km per hour are operating in the Chinese railway system.
The remaining 54 locomotives will be imported in SKD/CKD condition and manufactured at the PR’s own locomotive factory at Risalpur in three years. As a result of local manufacturing a saving of Rs1 billion in foreign exchange is likely.
