On 9 October 2007, the Punjab
government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Delhi Metro Rail
Corporation (DMRC) for starting metro rail services in Ludhiana. Also, a similar
rail system is being proposed for Amritsar and Mohali.
According to the MoU, the detailed
project report (DPR) will be prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which
is likely to be completed within six months (May 2008). After receiving the DPR,
the project will be bid out for construction and will have an estimated cost of
Rs.3,000 crore. The project is proposed to be developed through the
public-private partnership (PPP) /built-operate-own (BOO) mode.
After the DPR, the construction is
likely to start within a year and the first phase of the metro rail, proposed to
be about 25 km, is likely to be completed within four years.