Infra Projects Incur 19% Cost Escalation

New Delhi: There were 1,742 major infrastructure projects by the end of November which are projected to require Rs3,103,301.37 crore, against the original estimate of Rs2,601,870.34 crore. This means there is cost escalation of Rs501,431.03 crore, or 19.27 per cent of the original cost. A major infrastructure project needs an investment of Rs150 crore or more.

Of the 1,742 projects, 603 are mega projects that is, the ones involving investment of Rs1,000 or more. Originally, these were anticipated to cost Rs2,094,357.8 crore. So far, Rs1,652,182 crore has been spent on all projects, 53.24 per cent of the estimated expenditure.

A dozen infrastructure projects were completed in November at a total cost of Rs15,513.2 crore, whereas originally these were expected to cost more, Rs16,116.74 crore. Eleven completed projects, involving around Rs10,000 crore, were in the road transport and highways sector.

One of these was in Andhra Pradesh—the rehabilitation and upgrade of National Highway-42 from KM 4-350 to KM 75-600. It got delayed by more than nine years, but there was no cost overrun, official sources told Bizz Buzz. In fact, the original cost was Rs309.01 crore, but it required Rs274.36 crore.

As many as 15 projects were added in November, with a total investment of Rs11,115.37 crore. Eleven of these projects were in the road transport and highways sector, with a total investment of Rs7,130.7 crore.

Eight projects were frozen or deleted in November. They were estimated to cost Rs3,063.51, but the cumulative expenditure on them was Rs679.13 crore. Of the 1,742 infrastructure projects nationwide, 104 are in Andhra Pradesh. These were originally planned at an expenditure of Rs143,330.66 crore, but are now estimated to need Rs206,772.7 crore. There are 53 projects in Telangana. While at the time of inception, they were expected to require Rs39,244.93, the projected cost now is Rs41,968.34 crore.