PESHAWAR: While announcing that work on the circular railway project will begin soon, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Tuesday asked the relevant Chinese company to open its offices in the provincial capital for the purpose.

After the meeting of necessary requirements, the land acquisition for the initiative will begin.

The announcement was made during a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pervez Khattak at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here, where the additional chief secretary, administrative secretaries and other relevant officials were in attendance.

The statement said the circular railway project would connect Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Swabi, Malakand and Charsadda districts.

The Peshawar region mass transit circular railway project needs to be taken to the next phase as the province will take it up in the next JCC meeting in Nov.

It was approved for the third party evaluation.

The participants discussed initiatives to be carried out under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, 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 CM said he would head a monitoring and implementation committee to ensure speedy work on the project and other road communication networks to be laid down under the CPEC project.

He said the committee consisting of the representatives both of federal and provincial governments would also ensure quality of work on the projects.

Mr Khattak ordered the convening of an extraordinary meeting of the committee next week.

He said the initiatives to be taken under the CPEC project were the future of the region as both Pakistan and China were the guarantors of all agreements in that respect.

The CM ordered the upgradation of the signaling system on the existing railway track.

He asked the Pakistan Railway and transport department to prepare separate PC-1s in consultation with the planning and development department.

Mr Khattak said the federal minister for railways had already allowed the use of the existing tracks for the circular railway project.

He ordered the removal of all hurdles to the project.

“It is a project where investment will be facilitated. It is the most feasible project. We will make separate agreements with the Pakistan Railways and Chinese company for it,” he said.

The meeting was told that the Pakistan Railways had already constituted its technical committee for the project, while the P&D department had also set up a core committee for the purpose.

Published in Dawn, October 18th, 2017