By IANS,
New Delhi : A US delegation headed by James Simpson, administrator of Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Monday met Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy to identify opportunities for joint projects in the public transportation sector in both countries.
During the talks, Reddy highlighted some initiatives like the Metro Rail and the bus rapid transport system that have been taken up by the urban development ministry.
The purpose of the visit is to further develop cooperation and exchange of information based on the memorandum of cooperation (MoC) signed between the ministry and US Department of Transportation in September 2007.
Earlier, while addressing an Indo-US delegation level meeting, Urban Development Secretary M. Ramachandran said there was a lot to learn from the US regarding public transport initiatives at the federal level.
Ramachandran said the MoC would facilitate the exchange of technical information on subjects of mutual interests, exchange of specialists, delegations, and scientific and technical personnel.
Highlighting the initiatives taken in the field of urban transport, Ramachandran said funds worth $13.5 billion have been released for metro projects in Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.
The metro projects in Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkata are being taken up on joint ownership pattern with the central government and the state government concerned as project promoters. The metro projects in Mumbai and Hyderabad are being developed on public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Ramachandran added that metro projects were in the pipeline for Chennai, Kochi and Chandigarh.