Pakistan has asked the Asian Development Bank for more funding for the $10 billion ML-1 railway line and other public-private partnership projects. An ADB delegation, led by Vice President Yingming Yang, met Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb in Islamabad on September 2. The ADB has already given $2 billion for the Karachi-Rohri section of the 1,670-kilometre ML-1 project, which is currently under construction.
What Pakistan Is Asking For
The Economic Affairs Division is in talks with the ADB about extra financing options, including guarantees and private sector partnerships. Cheema called ML-1 a national flagship project and asked the ADB to expand its private sector work in Pakistan. He also said the government is improving how projects get carried out and is building a pipeline of projects that make commercial sense, alongside continued privatisation efforts.
Where ML-1 Stands Right Now
ML-1, short for the Karachi-Peshawar Main Railway Line, is part of a $10 billion Country Partnership Strategy between Pakistan and the ADB, approved by the bank’s board in March. This latest meeting is a follow-up to that strategy. The $2 billion already secured covers the Karachi to Rohri stretch of the line, and that section is currently being built.
What the ADB Had to Say
Yang welcomed the improvement in Pakistan’s sovereign credit ratings and noted progress on macroeconomic stability. He confirmed the ADB’s support for ML-1 and said the bank wants to help move the project toward an early groundbreaking. He also proposed setting up a working group focused on institutional reforms at Pakistan Railways, with that process expected to start soon.
