Rs 5.66-Trn Cost Escalation Hits Infra Projects In Aug

New Delhi: As many as 16 infrastructure projects were completed in August at a cost of Rs12,772.92 crore, which was 21.33 per cent higher than the cost originally anticipated Rs2,245.76 crore. In July, however, 21 infrastructure projects were completed whose cost at the time of inception was supposed to be Rs8,648.94 crore but the final cost project to be less than that, Rs7,570.75 crore.

Overall, there was a cost escalation of Rs5,66,157.1 crore in August in infrastructure projects of Rs150 crore and more. Originally, 1,783 such projects were expected to require Rs2,738,539.25 crore. Now, these are anticipated to cost Rs3,304,696.35 crore, which is 20.67 per cent escalation, official sources told Bizz Buzz.

The largest of these projects was the 148-km four-laning of the Varanasi-Gorakhpur National Highway in Uttar Pradesh. The anticipated cost was Rs1,396.74 crore and the completion was due in October 2019. However, it finally cost almost three times, Rs3,986.5 crore.

The second biggest project to get completed in August was the six-laning of the Vijayawada Bypass from Chinna Avutapalli to Gollapudi. Originally anticipated to be complete in February 2021 at an expense of Rs1,226.88 crore, it finally cost Rs1,438.66 crore.

In August, 16 projects were started at a total cost of Rs15,663.95 crore. The biggest of them is one by Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL). Approved in January last year and expected to complete in March 2030, it is worth Rs4,011.85 crore.

The second biggest project which began in August was the Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport at Varanasi. It got the approval just a month previously, in July. It is anticipated to need expenditure worth Rs2,869.65 crore and complete in July 2027.

The third largest relates to a highway in Maharashtra. Approved in June 2024, this Rs2,379.84-crore project is expected to complete in May 2026.