Efforts by Alfred Ford, great-grandson of Henry Ford, to build a $250 million ski resort in Himachal Pradesh, have come up against a wall of bureaucratic red tape and indecisiveness.

Even though the government agreed last week to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Ford's Himalayan ski resort company, details still remain unclear with officials holding different views on the project.

"This is one of the biggest tourism projects of the country. So to make it more transparent, open bidding should take place," a senior official told .

Another official said the government was still working out the manner in which the deal will be signed.

"We are yet to decide about (the supply of water) among other matters to the proposed resort site," Tourism Minister G.S. Bali told. The resort is to be located at 8,500 feet above sea level in the Kullu valley.

The project proposal was submitted at a tourism conclave held here last year.

A company official said: "Some 100 hectares would be needed to build hotels, parks, malls, cable cars, ski slopes and even an airport. It would be built in the traditional Himalayan style architecture which will involve no displacement of people."

Once the ski village comes up, the company plans to hold international skiing tournaments. It does not rule out holding even the winter Olympics.

Alfred Ford, who has married an Indian, has been closely involved with the Hare Krishna movement in the US and India.