FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE




IAA'orld Bank
   J 818 H Street, N.WJ\ Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234
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     IDA NEWS RELEASE NO.          83/2                                              Contact:   Hugh Blackman
    Ju I y 2,1982                                                                               (202) 477-3879

                PAKISTAN RAILWAYS TO USE $50 MILLION IDA CREDIT FOR IMPROVING OPERATIONS

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           The lnterhational Development Association (IQA) hijs approved a credit of
    SOR 44.3 ~ill ion ($50 million) to Pakistan for an eleventh rail~ay project. The credit
    from the ~orld Bank~s affiliate for concessionary lending will assist Pakistan Railways
    to improve its operations, particularly the availability of locomotives.

           Poor maintenance, an inadequate supply of spare parts, and the lack of modern
    equipment have caused delays in the repair and maintenance of locomotives. To reduce
    the downtime required for these operations, a unit exchange mainte'nance system will be
    established.

          The $132.7 mill ion project will provide Pakistan Railways with a pool of critical
   components ne~ded to establish the system. In addition, to enable the railways to
   switch to the unit exchange maintenance system, the Central Diesel Locomotive Works at
~Rawalpindi wil 1 be equipped with specialized facilities for the remanufacture of the
~~itical components.

           In order to exploit the telecommunications network financed under the tenth
    project and to improve data processing capability, the project will introduce a
    management information system. This will strengthen the organization and management
    structure of Pakistan Ra!lways, the largest public sector employer in the country.

           Under the project, container rail services between Karachi and Lahore will be
    developed through the provision of mobile cranes and procurement of 100 flat wagons for
    container handling. It is expected to attract to the railways a significant inland share
    of the international container traffic between these two major industrial centers.

           Pakistan Railways will be provided with technical assistance in areas such as
    mechanical maintenance, traffic costing, electrification study, and the development
    of information systems.

            The $50 mill ion IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace. It
    carries no interest but bears a small annual service charge of 0.5% on the undisbursed
    balances of the credit and 0.75% on the disbursed balances. Previous Bank-assisted
    railway projects in Pakistan provided for the rehabilitation of facilities and
    eq~lipment and the improvement of the operations of Pakistan Railways.


    NOTE:        IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued
                 on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the
                 SDR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at the time
                 of negotiation of the credit.




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