Pakistan, China Agree on $7 Billion ML-1 Railway Financing Consortium

Pakistan and China have agreed to establish a consortium of bilateral and multilateral partners to finance the $7 billion Mainline-1 (ML-1) railway project, alongside a comprehensive four-year action plan (2025-29) for the second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The announcement was made on Monday by Planning and Development Minister Ahsan Iqbal during a press conference, where he outlined the outcomes of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to China. The minister revealed that the consortium would include the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), China, and Pakistan as key financiers for the 1,700-km Karachi-Peshawar railway line.

Minister Iqbal confirmed that China had assured financing not only for the ML-1 project but also for the Karakoram Highway. He added that negotiations with multiple financiers are expected to conclude within a month.

Criticizing the previous government, he claimed that the ML-1 and Sukkur-Hyderabad Motorway projects would have been completed by now if not for the political changes in 2018. He accused the PTI government of derailing progress, saying it “destroyed the process.”

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The minister highlighted that Pakistan and China have agreed on a four-year action plan to deepen their strategic partnership under CPEC’s second phase. The plan, spanning 2025 to 2029, aims to build a “China-Pakistan community with a shared future,” focusing on stronger political trust, closer trade ties, deeper security cooperation, and enhanced people-to-people connections.

Agriculture modernization and industrial development will be prioritized, with provisions for third-party participation. The next meeting of the Joint Cooperation Council (JCC) of CPEC is scheduled for September 26 in Beijing, where further details will be finalized.

Minister Iqbal described the action plan as a “solid development” stemming from leadership-level meetings aimed at deepening strategic cooperation. He emphasized that the shared vision reflects the enduring partnership between two “time-tested, friendly countries.”