Infra projects delay to cost Rs 1.24 lakh cr

The poor implementation of central sector infrastructure projects like roads, railways and power would results in massive cost overrun of Rs 1.24 lakh crore, says a government report.

According to Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's latest analysis of 560 such projects worth over Rs 150 crore under review, the anticipated cost would be Rs 1,24,616.11 crore higher than the original estimates.

The total original cost of implementation of these projects was about Rs 6,03,783.35 crore, which would be completed for Rs 7,28,399.46 crore, the latest ministry analysis stated.

As many as 251 projects are delayed and 116 works were sanctioned without any commissioning schedule. There are 46 projects where neither the year of commission nor the tentative gestation period was reported as per the ministry's report.

The number of projects running ahead of schedule are minuscule at 10.

Sector wise, the performance of railways seem to be the worst as the cost overrun is the highest at 84.2%.

The total original estimated cost of the monitored 139 railways projects was Rs 66,775.98 crore which is now revised upward at Rs 1,23,021.21 crore.

Another plagued sector is steel where poor implementation would result in cost overrun of 62.9%. The report pointed out that against the estimated original cost of Rs 39,997.85 crore of 13 such projects under review, the expenditure would rise to Rs 65,040.88 crore.