Pakistan has approved the strategic USD 7.2 billion railway line upgradation project between Peshawar and Karachi under the CPEC, paving the way for the final negotiations with China for the finance, a media report said on Sunday.

The approval of the project to upgrade the 1,872 km-long railway track from Peshawar to Karachi is a big milestone for the second phase of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), said Lieutenant General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa, chairman of the CPEC Authority. The Central Development Working Party (CDWP) on Saturday approved the Pakistan Railways' Mainline-I Project, The Express Tribune reported.