[center]<b><span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>Railways official questions Pak-China rail link project</span></b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo-->[/center]
<i>* Railways GM tells PAC sub-body that cost may be five times higher
* Says operations of 15 new trains equal to one</i>
ISLAMABAD : A top official of the Railways Ministry on Saturday expressed serious doubts about the viability of the Pak-China rail link mega project link because of the huge costs required for the project.
<b>âThe cost of this mega project is a big question mark. According to initial estimates by Chinese authorities, <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>the proposed construction of Pak-China rail track through the Himalayas will cost around $5 million per kilometre against the normal estimates of around $1 million to $1.5 million,â said Railways General Manager Asad Saeed, before a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sub-committee.</span></b>
Chaudhry Qamar Zaman Kaira presided over the PAC sub-committee, which met here at the Parliament House, to examine the Ministry of Railways accounts and audit reports related to financial years 1989-90 and 1994-95. MNA Sardar Ashiq Gopang also attended the meeting.
âThe estimated construction cost per kilometre is almost five times higher than the normal cost from Havelian to Khunjarab. However, we awarded contracts last month to two different firms, one each from China and Germany, to prepare the feasibility of the proposed track in nine months,â said Saeed.
He said once the study was complete, railways authorities would present it before the government for a decision. âThe finance ministry will provide funds if the government approves the project for execution. A huge amount is required, including foreign investment and Chinese support, to complete this project,â said Saeed.
Different routes are currently being employed and questions about the track length and total amount required for the project can only be answered after the route is finalised, Saeed told Daily Times. Saeed also said that 15 new trains had been started recently, but that their operations were equal to those of one train. He said these trains were being run once or twice a week on alternative days on different routes.
<b>âWe have received 48 locomotives from China along with bogies but we are still short of locomotives and bogies. We also regularly renovate our old bogies to cater to the needs of passengers,â he said.
Kaira described these mega projects as political tactics and said, âOur minister regularly announces the launching of new trains with new names, but surprisingly without acquisition of new trains.â
He said the minister had also announced that a bullet train would run between Lahore and Rawalpindi by the end of this year while his ministry was yet to complete even the pre-feasibility report for the laying out of a track for this purpose.</b>
Earlier, reviewing the audit report related to the ministry for the years 1989-90 and 1994-95, the sub-committee maintained that the audit paras were so old and directed that an inter-departmental committee be constituted to provide recommendations on the subject.
It also examined a report on ministry grants and observed that the maximum use of funds should be ensured.
Cheers
<i>* Railways GM tells PAC sub-body that cost may be five times higher
* Says operations of 15 new trains equal to one</i>
ISLAMABAD : A top official of the Railways Ministry on Saturday expressed serious doubts about the viability of the Pak-China rail link mega project link because of the huge costs required for the project.
<b>âThe cost of this mega project is a big question mark. According to initial estimates by Chinese authorities, <span style='font-size:14pt;line-height:100%'>the proposed construction of Pak-China rail track through the Himalayas will cost around $5 million per kilometre against the normal estimates of around $1 million to $1.5 million,â said Railways General Manager Asad Saeed, before a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sub-committee.</span></b>
Chaudhry Qamar Zaman Kaira presided over the PAC sub-committee, which met here at the Parliament House, to examine the Ministry of Railways accounts and audit reports related to financial years 1989-90 and 1994-95. MNA Sardar Ashiq Gopang also attended the meeting.
âThe estimated construction cost per kilometre is almost five times higher than the normal cost from Havelian to Khunjarab. However, we awarded contracts last month to two different firms, one each from China and Germany, to prepare the feasibility of the proposed track in nine months,â said Saeed.
He said once the study was complete, railways authorities would present it before the government for a decision. âThe finance ministry will provide funds if the government approves the project for execution. A huge amount is required, including foreign investment and Chinese support, to complete this project,â said Saeed.
Different routes are currently being employed and questions about the track length and total amount required for the project can only be answered after the route is finalised, Saeed told Daily Times. Saeed also said that 15 new trains had been started recently, but that their operations were equal to those of one train. He said these trains were being run once or twice a week on alternative days on different routes.
<b>âWe have received 48 locomotives from China along with bogies but we are still short of locomotives and bogies. We also regularly renovate our old bogies to cater to the needs of passengers,â he said.
Kaira described these mega projects as political tactics and said, âOur minister regularly announces the launching of new trains with new names, but surprisingly without acquisition of new trains.â
He said the minister had also announced that a bullet train would run between Lahore and Rawalpindi by the end of this year while his ministry was yet to complete even the pre-feasibility report for the laying out of a track for this purpose.</b>
Earlier, reviewing the audit report related to the ministry for the years 1989-90 and 1994-95, the sub-committee maintained that the audit paras were so old and directed that an inter-departmental committee be constituted to provide recommendations on the subject.
It also examined a report on ministry grants and observed that the maximum use of funds should be ensured.
Cheers