Pakistan, Asian Development Bank discuss early groundbreaking of ML-1 railway

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called for an early start to work on the planned upgrade of the country’s Main Line-1 railway, as Islamabad and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) discussed infrastructure and other development priorities under a new 2026-30 partnership strategy. The development came during a meeting between PM Shehbaz and ADB Vice President for South, Central, and West Asia, Yingming Yang, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. A central focus of the discussions was the modernisation of the ML-1 railway corridor from Karachi to Peshawar—a vital national infrastructure priority. PM underscored that upgrading ML-1 is essential for modernising freight logistics, strengthening regional trade connectivity, and supporting major industrial initiatives. The meeting discussed the need for early groundbreaking of ML1, being vital for infrastructure development and modernising connectivity, the statement said. The ML-1 railway project is an ambitious undertaking to upgrade Pakistan Railways’ existing Main Line-1, which stretches 1,733 km from Karachi to Peshawar, passing through cities like Kotri, Hyderabad, Rohri, Multan, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. The proj