About 431 infrastructure projects were affected by a cost overrun of over Rs 4.82 lakh crore in December 2023, with each project including an investment of Rs 150 crore or more, official data revealed. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)’s latest report for December 2023, out of the total 1,820 projects, 431 logged a cost overrun, while 848 projects were delayed.
The official data revealed that the total original implementation cost of the 1,820 projects stood at Rs 25,87,066.08 crore, and the anticipated completion cost is expected to touch Rs 30,69,595.88 crore, reflecting a cost overrun of Rs 4,82,529.80 crore, marking an increase of 18.65 per cent on the original cost, reported PTI.
The report found that the expenditure incurred on the projects, as of December 2023, stood at Rs 16,26,813.80 crore, making up 53 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects. It further noted that the number of delayed projects fell to 638, if the delay was calculated on the basis of the latest completion schedule.
It stated that the year of commissioning or the tentative gestation period was not reported for 298 projects. Of the 848 delayed projects, about 202 included overall delays in the range of 1-12 months, 200 were delayed for 13-24 months, 323 were delayed for 25-60 months, and 123 projects suffered delays of over 60 months.
The average time overrun in the 848 projects stood at 36.59 months. The report stated several reasons were provided for the delays by the various project implementing agencies. These included delays in land acquisition, obtaining forest and environment clearances, and a lack of infrastructure support and linkages as the primary reasons.
Other reasons cited for the delays included hindrances in tie-up for project financing, finalisation of detailed engineering, change in scope, tendering, ordering, and equipment supply, and law and order problems.
Additionally, the report noted that state-wise lockdowns imposed due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021 were also responsible for the delay in the implementation of these projects. “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,” the report added.