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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan plans to upgrade its railway infrastructure and extend the network to Reko Diq, a massive copper and gold mining project in southwestern Balochistan province, as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday instructed officials to set up an inter-ministerial committee for the project.

The move aims to support future cargo and transport needs, particularly as Reko Diq, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits, is set to begin production within three years.

The mine is being developed by Barrick Gold, which holds a 50 percent stake, with the remaining share held jointly by Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments. The company has projected the project will generate up to $74 billion in free cash flow over its expected 37-year lifespan.

“The Prime Minister directed that Reko Diq be connected to the railway network by 2028,” Sharif’s office said in a statement circulated after the meeting. “The Prime Minister instructed the formation of an inter-ministerial committee to explore financing options for the upgrade and expansion of the railway system.”

“The committee will present concrete proposals regarding the financing required for the development of Pakistan Railways and its extension to Reko Diq,” it added.

Calling railways a “backbone” of Pakistan’s economy and communications network, the prime minister said it was an affordable, fast and environmentally friendly mode of transport.

He added extending rail connectivity to Reko Diq would boost the mining and minerals sector in Balochistan and create new employment opportunities for residents in the province.

The mineral-rich but underdeveloped province of Balochistan is vital to Beijing’s $65 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship Pakistan arm of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative.

However, while the province is viewed as vital for Pakistan’s economic future, it remains marred by separatist violence, posing serious challenges to the implementation of large-scale infrastructure and mining projects.

The railway network, despite being a key mode of transport for the province’s widely dispersed population, has also come under threat from militant attacks.

Earlier this year, armed separatists took a passenger train hostage in Balochistan, triggering a military rescue operation in which security forces said all the militants were killed.

LONDON: Global oil demand will keep growing until around the end of this decade despite peaking in top importer China in 2027, as cheaper gasoline and slower electric vehicle adoption in the United States support oil use, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday. 

The IEA, which advises industrialized countries, did not change its prediction that demand will peak this decade, a view that sharply contrasts with that of producer group the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which says consumption will keep growing and has not forecast a peak.

Oil demand will peak at 105.6 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2029 and then fall slightly in 2030, a table in the Paris-based IEA’s annual report shows. At the same time, global production capacity is forecast to rise by more than 5 million bpd to 114.7 million bpd by 2030.

A conflict between Israel and Iran has highlighted the risk to Middle East supplies, helping send oil prices up 5 percent to above $74 a barrel on Friday. Still, the latest forecasts suggest ample supplies through 2030 if there are no major disruptions, the IEA said.

“Based on the fundamentals, oil markets look set to be well-supplied in the years ahead,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol in a statement. “But recent events sharply highlight the significant geopolitical risks to oil supply security,” Birol said.

After decades of leading global oil demand growth, China’s contribution is sputtering as it faces economic challenges as well as making a big shift to EVs. The world’s second-largest economy is set to see its oil consumption peak in 2027, following a surge in EV sales and the deployment of high-speed rail and trucks running on natural gas, the IEA said.

In February, it predicted China’s demand for road and air transport fuels may have already peaked.

China’s total oil consumption in 2030 is now set to be only marginally higher than in 2024, the IEA said, compared with growth of around 1 million bpd forecast in last year’s report.

By contrast, lower gasoline prices and slower EV adoption in the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer, have boosted the 2030 oil demand forecast by 1.1 million bpd compared with the previous prediction, the IEA said.

Since returning to office, US President Donald Trump has demanded OPEC lower oil prices and taken aim at EVs through steps such as signing resolutions approved by lawmakers barring California’s EV sales mandates.