Rs 5.71-trn cost overrun hits 458 infra projects

New Delhi: As many as 458 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs 150 crore or above, were hit by a cost overrun of more than Rs 5.71 lakh crore in May this year, according to an official report.According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), which monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs 150 crore and above, out of 1,817 projects, 458 reported cost overruns and 831 projects were delayed.

The total original cost of implementation of 1,817 projects was Rs27,58,567.23crore, and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs33,29,647.99 crore, which reflects an overall cost overrun of over Rs5,71,080.76 (20.70%of original cost), the ministry’s latest report for May 2024 showed. According to the report, the expenditure incurred on these projects till May 2024 is Rs1,707,190.15crore, which is 51.3 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects.

However, the number of delayed projects decreased to 554, provided the delay is calculated on the basis of the latest schedule of completion, it added. Of the 831 delayed projects, 245 have overall delays in the range of 1-12 months, 188 have been delayed for 13-24 months.