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WB offers financial assistance to connect Gwadar Port with main railway network of Pakistan
By Ihtasham ul Haque
THE BALOCHISTAN TIMES
Monday August 22, 2005
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank offers financial assistance to Pakistan to connect Gwadar Port with the existing rail link of the country, a government official told Online here on Sunday.
In this regard, World Bank team and the ministry of railways met here on Saturday and discussed the corporation between the World Bank the government of Pakistan to run Railways on modern lines.
The official said that the World Bank has shown keen interest in development of railway sector and offered its services to turn Pakistan Railways into State Corporation.
He said that Pakistan Railways had already planned to connect Gwadar Port with the existing rail link at Ahmedwall on Quetta Taftan Section.
Pakistan Railways had already started work to conduct feasibility study for cost, Engineering and design for construction of rail link from Gwadar to existing rail network at Dalbadin/Noshki, he said.
He said that the Gwadar Sea Port was under construction and expected to be completed by end 2005.
He hoped that the new links to that port would open up underdeveloped areas of Balochistan for development. The government is also working to establish rail link with Afghanistan and by laying that rail track, Pakistan is likely to become the most accessible international trade route to Central Asia, Iran and China, he said. The rail link from Pakistan to Central Asia through Afghanistan will provide comparatively less expensive access to the Central Asian states markets, he said.
He said that these republics along with Afghanistan have inherited a situation of being land-locked. Without international trade they cannot achieve development so by force of circumstance they have to find route to warm waters, which can be provided by Pakistan.
The entire area, he said, has just opened up and offers immense opportunities in the field of defence, technology and bilateral trade. -Online.
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