Back in 2007, Punjab gave very positive signs for a new 500 kilometer High Speed passenger transport corridor from Delhi to Amritsar. Two months after the announcement, in June 2007, reports stated that eight submissions to the RFP had come in for this new PPP.
Yet in 2008, the Indian minister Lalu Prasad still claimed that the first corridor Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar, was about to go in prefeasability study, saying that "the process for inviting global tenders for engaging a consultant for conducting pre-feasibility studies". One year later, regional authorities and the ministry are still struggling.
"The official clarified that the implementation of the project would not be feasible without the full participation and contribution of the states. He also said that the railways could not run it as a Public Private Participation (PPP) project."
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