{
  "id": 7966131,
  "title": "FWO Seeks to Build Multan-Rohri Rail Section Under Build and Lease Model",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/fwo-seeks-to-build-multan-rohri-rail-section-under-build-and-lease",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-17T06:17:04.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ProPakistani",
    "slug": "propakistani",
    "url": "https://propakistani.pk/2026/09/17/fwo-seeks-to-build-multan-rohri-rail-section-under-build-and-lease-model/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) has proposed constructing the Multan-Rohri section of the Mainline I railway project at an estimated cost of Rs. 470 billion under a build and lease model. This proposal was discussed during a meeting chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, which included senior officials from various ministries and representatives of the Special Investment Facilitation Council and Public Private Partnership Authority.\n\nUnder the proposed model, FWO would arrange debt financing from local banks to cover up to 80% of the project cost, while the federal government would contribute between 20% and 40%. This federal contribution would be considered as viability gap funding. FWO aims to complete the rail link within three years and then lease it to Pakistan Railways for a period of 25 years. Ownership of the track would be transferred to Pakistan Railways after the lease expires.\n\nHowever, the repayment of the debt raised by FWO and the required sovereign guarantees remain unresolved issues. Pakistan Railways has expressed reluctance to take full responsibility for repaying the loans after assuming control of the track. The Ministry of Finance has not provided clear consent to provide guarantees and instead asked Pakistan Railways to determine the extent of debt repayment it could manage from its own resources upon taking over the track.\n\nAhsan Iqbal stated that the federal government would not provide viability gap funding from the Public Sector Development Programme and suggested exploring alternative mechanisms to fund this gap. The discussion also focused on arranging financing under the National Economic Initiative, designed to finance major projects of strategic national importance through provincial grants.",
  "summary": "The Frontier Works Organisation has proposed constructing the Multan Rohri section of the Mainline I railway project at a cost … Read More The post FWO Seeks to Build Multan-Rohri Rail Section Under Build and Lease Model appeared first on ProPakistani .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}