Overview
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with ADB Vice President Yingming Yang to press for an early groundbreaking and to review priority actions under the ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy 2026–2030.
- The ADB agreed to help set up a joint Pakistan Railways reforms working group to tackle institutional and execution problems that stalled the project.
- Key obstacles remain unresolved, including securing comprehensive multilateral financing, hiring the required engineering and technical experts, and removing administrative bottlenecks that the government says execution task forces are addressing.
- ML‑1 is a planned 1,733 km upgrade of the main Karachi–Peshawar corridor that would double-track lines and raise speeds toward about 160 km/h, with an initial elevated 480 km Karachi–Rohri phase previously estimated at roughly Rs450 billion and expected to draw on Chinese banks and other international lenders.
- If delivered, the upgrade could speed freight, cut transport costs, boost regional trade links and create jobs, but the project’s near‑term progress will hinge on timely finance, clear contracting and measurable railway reforms under the CPS partnership.