The multi billion rupee transportation infrastructure plan designed to link remote mining operations with major national transit corridors has encountered rigorous administrative scrutiny from state development watchdogs. The Central Development Working Party, under the chairmanship of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, has formally cleared the 996 kilometre Main Line 3 railway upgrade project for top tier consideration by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council. However, the clearance is accompanied by a series of directives demanding that the Ministry of Railways comprehensively address critical structural concerns regarding short term repayment risks, severe foreign exchange exposure, and exceptionally high security overheads before final administrative authorization is granted.
The massive logistical overhaul, which spans the rail network from Rohri through Sibi and Quetta to Koh-i-Taftan, carries an aggregate estimated cost of two hundred and seventy eight point sixty two billion rupees. To jumpstart the initiative, the federal administration has structured a specialized cross industry financing arrangement. The upgrade is set to be financed partially through a three hundred and ninety million dollar bridge loan provided directly by the Reko Diq Mining Company, a significant corporate sum translating to over one hundred and twelve billion rupees. While the Prime Minister and the Economic Coordination Committee have already greenlit this bridge financing framework and related development pacts, the Planning Commission notes that the federal government is legally bound to return this dollar denominated loan in a singular lump sum payment by June 2028, creating a intense two year fiscal repayment window.
The overarching utility of the eight hundred and ninety two million dollar total ML 3 modernization plan is explicitly engineered to support the heavy transport and cargo requirements generated by the Reko Diq copper and gold extraction venture located in Balochistan. The mining enterprise operating as the credit provider functions as a high profile joint venture wherein Canada’s Barrick Gold Corporation retains a fifty percent controlling stake, while the remaining fifty percent is distributed equally among the provincial government of Balochistan and three federal state owned entities including OGDCL, PPL, and GHPL. According to the strategic blueprints, the track renewal will ultimately be funded through the public sector development program, with the mining firm and federal reserves stepping in solely to bridge initial cash gaps.
Despite the grand economic scale of the mining project, the actual immediate public capital allocation remains disproportionately small, with only two hundred and fifty million rupees reserved for the initiative within the current Public Sector Development Programme cycle. The infrastructure design itself is split into two separate implementation chapters, focusing on complete track replacement, embankment and bridge rehabilitation, turnout upgrades, and the construction of eleven fresh railway stations between Spezand and Taftan. Phase one, stretching from 2026 to 2030, requires an estimated five hundred and eighty five million dollars for urgent structural works, while Phase two, running from 2031 to 2033, covers secondary priority tasks valued at one hundred and forty five million dollars.
A major point of contention highlighted by the development commission centers on the massive security arrangements required to protect engineering crews during the construction cycle, which are budgeted at one hundred and sixty two million dollars, or forty six point thirty eight billion rupees. The commission openly questioned the validity of embedding this immense sum into a standard development budget, stating plainly that security protection does not constitute a wealth generating development activity. Furthermore, because this protective allocation devours nearly seventeen percent of the total project budget, reviewers warned that it threatens the baseline financial viability of the entire setup, prompting formal inquiries into whether local provincial police forces were ever consulted to provide low cost alternative security layers.
The technical oversight body also demanded long term operational clarity regarding corridor security sustainability following the final physical completion of the tracks, particularly when accounting for recent insurgent attacks and security incidents targeting segments along the planned route. Additionally, reviewers criticized the uneven financial distribution of the project, observing that twenty five point eighty seven billion rupees, representing roughly nine percent of total capital, had been frontloaded into the very first year of implementation despite the project possessing a long seven year execution window. The commission concluded its evaluation with a warning that any failure or delay in securing smooth, timely funds will inevitably trigger lengthy project stalls and heavy cost escalations, even as a corporate joint venture led by Zeeruk International commences initial advisory works.
Follow the PakBanker Whatsapp Channel for updates across Pakistan’s banking ecosystem.