ADB prepares $1.1bn for Karachi—Rohri railway modernization — Dawn
The Asian Development Bank is finalizing preparations for a $1.1 billion investment program to modernize the 480-kilometer Main Line-1 railway section between Karachi and Rohri in Pakistan. The program is expected to improve the efficiency, safety and environmental sustainability of rail transport on this route through 2040, Dawn reports.
Funding for the Karachi—Rohri corridor
ADB’s multitranche financing is planned to be directed toward upgrading a key passenger and freight corridor of Pakistan Railways. It provides for improvements to climate-resilient infrastructure, modernization of signaling and operations, as well as institutional measures and capacity development.
One billion dollars is to be provided from the bank’s ordinary capital resources, with another $100 million provided through concessional lending from ordinary capital resources. The ADB already supports the transformation of Pakistan Railways through project preparation financing approved in 2025 and is considering further multitranche financing alongside governance reforms.
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ADB mission in January 2027
In January 2027, the ADB plans to send a mission to Pakistan to discuss and assess project details with the federal authorities and the government of Sindh. The mission will assess environmental and social risks and impacts, labor conditions, resource conservation, pollution prevention, land acquisition and land-use restriction issues, biodiversity, cultural heritage and climate change.
Earlier this month, ADB Vice-President for South, Central and West Asia Yingming Yang visited Islamabad and met with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the railways minister and other officials. Railways Minister Hanif Abbasi estimated the cost of modernizing the Karachi—Rohri section at approximately $2.5 billion and said it is planned to be completed within three years. According to him, the 183-kilometer Nawabshah—Rohri section will be prioritized.
