Lalu in Mumbai to prepare for PM's launch of freight corridor

New Delhi, Sep 4 (UNI) Railway Minister Lalu Prasad is in Mumbai to supervsie Western Railway projects and look into the preparatory work for the launch of Rs 22,000-crore dedicated freight corridor project by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh next month.

Official sources here told UNI that the Prime Minister's programme is being firmed up for the launch ceremony, likely to take place in first or second week of October in Mumbai.

The Railway Ministry is gearing itself up for an early take off of the dedicated freight corridors, linking Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, after the Union Cabinet recently gave its approval for the setting up of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for funding the gargantuan project.

Mr. Prasad had earlier said the interim report on dedicated rail freight corridors by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was expected to be ready before the year-end.

UNI/SKS RL HT2042