Premier Giuseppe Conte on Friday denied media reports that he supports a reduced version of an 8.6 billion euro high-speed train tunnel project linking Italy and France which has split the populist coalition government.
"Today's reports in several newspapers have no basis in truth," said a statement from Conte's office.
"The prime minister, Giuseppe Conte has not expressed interest in any plans for a mini-TAV," said the statement, referring to the Italian name for the planned high-speed rail link between Turin and Lyon.
"Nor has he (Conte) ever asked for a further cost-benefit analysis of the project, something that has been requested by the transport ministry," the statement went on.
Conte "continues to underline that the decision made (on the TAV) will be taken with maximum transparency in the interests of the country and its citizens alone", the statement said.
The statement came after Italian media reports on Friday quoted Conte as telling La Stampa daily that he favoured ruling League party proposals for reduced version of the TAV that would omit the the Piedmonte region's Susa station and Avigliana and Orbassano tunnels, shaving some 1.5 million euros off the cost of the controversial project.
The League party wants the TAV train tunnel to be built, but its coalition partner the grassroots 5-Star Movement's leader Luigi Di Maio and transport minister Danilo Toninelli have long opposed it on cost and environmental grounds.
Italy's transport ministry issued a cost-benefit analysis on the TAV last month which branded the project a waste of public money, saying it would have a "strongly negative” financial return.
France and the European Union - which is paying for 40 percent of the 57.5-kilometre tunnel - could seek damages from Italy if the project is binned.
After taking power last June, the populist government halted the project to build the tunnel which will cut the current 7 hour train journey from Turin to Lyon by 2.5 hours.
