445 infra projects hits cost overrun of Rs 4.4 lakh crore

According to a report, 445 infrastructure projects with an investment of Rs 150 crore each have been hit by cost overruns of over Rs 4.4 lakh crore.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation looks into the infrastructure projects of Rs 150 crore or more. Of 1,673 projects, 445 faced cost overruns, and 557 projects were delayed.

The Ministry said that the initial implementation cost of these projects was Rs 22,23,791.78 crore, and their anticipated cost is likely to be Rs 26,64,649.18 crore, with Rs 4,40,857.40 crore cost overruns.

As per the report, the expenditure incurred on these infrastructure projects is Rs 13,08,766.65 crore, which is 49.12% of the anticipated cost of the projects.

The number of delayed projects dropped to 420 if the delay is counted based on the latest schedule of completion.

As many as 838 projects have not been given the year of commissioning nor the tentative gestation period.

From the 557 delayed projects, 97 projects have an overall delay between 1-12 months, 127 projects have been delayed for 13-24 months, 217 projects for 25-60 months and 116 projects for 61 months or more. The average time overrun in these projects is 45.69 months.

Time overruns were due to the issue of land acquisition, delay in forest and environment clearances, lack of infrastructure support and linkages. Other reasons include project financing, delay in finalising detailed engineering, change in scope, delay in the tendering process, ordering and equipment supply, law and order problems and Covid-19 restrictions and state-wise lockdowns.

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