Daily Times

LAHORE: Railways Minister Sheikh Rasheed offered a 31-year lease term on Sunday to investors across the border for construction of a five-star hospitality project on the available railways land near religious places of the Sikh community in Pakistan.

Addressing a news conference, the federal minister wished to construct a railways station in Kartarpur, a religious place for the Sikh community.

“I will construct another railway station at Kartarpur, if I get enough funds,” Sheikh Rasheed said, adding that the Narowal Railway Station near Kartarpur had already been upgraded.

The Awami Muslim League chief further added that uplift of Nankana Sahib and Hasan Abdal railway stations would soon be completed.

“We are also ready to start a joint venture with an individual or party of the Sikh community by giving railways land on 31-year lease for the construction of a five-star hotel in Kartarpur or any such sacred place,” Rasheed said.

He further said the opening of Kartarpur corridor was a victory for Pakistan on the diplomatic front.

“Both Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa have done a marvellous job,” he added.

The railways minister announced that by the end of December, he would deliver all that he had promised to the nation and would start three tourism trains soon.

“Railways revenues are increasing and on November 27, it earned Rs 56 million, the highest intra-day revenue generated by the railways ever,” he said, adding that the department had also made Rs 20 billion in the first four months of this fiscal year of which Rs 2 billion had been earned in the last 90 days.

“In the passengers segment, railways have increased its revenues by Rs 1 billion,” Rasheed said, adding that the train schedule had now reached 90 percent punctuality level.

The railways minister further said that he intended to complete ML-1 project during his tenure.

“I want to initiate ML-1, two and three simultaneously, but the department is facing a 15 percent cut in annual Public Sector Development Programme, so I want ML-1 to be built at any cost,” he added.

Published in Daily Times, December 3^rd 2018.