Delay in execution of 421 infra projects escalates expenditure by Rs 4.40 lakh crore
New Delhi: With the delay in project financing, finalisation of detailed engineering, change in scope, tendering and others, over 421 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or more, were hit by cost overrun of more than Rs 4.40 lakh crore in November this year, according to a latest report published by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI).
The ministry, which monitors such infrastructure projects, also said that the reasons for such delays could be in tieing-up for project financing, finalisation of detailed engineering, change in scope, tendering, ordering and equipment supply, and law and order problems among others.
"It has also been observed that project executing agencies are not reporting revised cost estimates and commissioning schedules for many projects, which suggests that time/cost overrun figures are under-reported," it said, citing that state-wise lockdowns due to COVID-19 (imposed in 2020 and 2021) could be the one of the reasons for the delay in implementation of these projects.
As per the report, out of 1,831 projects, each project worth Rs 150 crore and above, as many as 421 reported cost overrun and 845 projects were delayed. ”Total original cost of implementation of the 1,831 projects was Rs 25,10,577.59 crore and their anticipated completion cost was Rs 29,50,997.33 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 4,40,419.74 crore (17.54 per cent of original cost),” the report said.
"The expenditure incurred on these projects till November 2023 was Rs 15,58,038.07 crore, which is 52.80 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects. However, the number of delayed projects decreases to 629 if the delay is calculated on the basis of latest schedule of completion," the report added.
Further, it stated that for 308 projects neither the year of commissioning nor the tentative gestation period were reported. "Out of the 845 delayed projects, 204 have overall delays in the range of 1-12 months, 198 have been delayed for 13-24 months, 322 projects for 25-60 months, and 121 projects have been delayed for more than 60 months," it said, adding that the average time overrun in these 845 delayed projects is 36.64 months.
