New Delhi: As many as 354 infrastructure projects, each entailing an investment of Rs150 crore or more, have been hit by cost overruns of more than Rs4.55 lakh crore, as per an official report. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, which monitors infrastructure projects worth Rs150 crore and above, out of 1,449 projects, 354 reported cost overruns and as many as 821 projects were delayed.
“Total original cost of implementation of the 1,449 projects was Rs20,69,658.30 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs25,25,348.87 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs4,55,690.57 crore (22.02 per cent of original cost),” said the ministry’s latest report for March 2023.
According to the report, the expenditure incurred on these projects till March 2023, is Rs13,90,736.58 crore, which is 55.07 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects. However, the number of delayed projects decreased to 616, if delay is calculated on the basis of the latest schedule of completion.