The increase in project cost is because of the rise in the cost of input materials, an ONGC official said.
"When we floated this joint venture in 2006, the cost of this project was Rs 13,500 crore but it was revised and brought down to Rs 12,500 crore. Now, when the prices of steel, cement and all other commodities have flared up, we expect the project will cost around Rs 17,000 crore," the official said.
