62 Major Infra Projects Completed In October

October saw the completion of 62 major infrastructure projects at a total cost of Rs34,835.83 crore, 8.35 per cent lower than the originally anticipated Rs37,744.85 crore. A project is considered major if it involves an investment of Rs150 crore or more.

There were a total of 1,747 projects in October, which were estimated to cost Rs2,609,935.22 crore, but now they are likely to cost Rs3,109,678.35 crore, an escalation of 19.14 per cent. This was a considerable improvement over a month-on-month basis, as the cost overruns in September were 20.9 per cent.

Most of the completed projects, 43, were in the road sector. The most expensive of the completed projects, Sakri-Nirmali and Jhanharpur Laukaha Bazaar and Saharsa in Bihar, needed Rs2,538.48 crore to complete. The original estimate was Rs372 crore.

The second costliest project completed in October was also of the Railways, of Rs1,931.12 crore. The Mayladuthurai-Thuruvarur-Karaikudi-Thirupondi-Agastiyaampalli line was expected at Rs724.69 crore by February 2019.

Of the completed projects in October, four were in Andhra Pradesh and one in Telangana.

Twenty-seven projects were added in October requiring a total investment of Rs15,473.8 crore. Most of the added projects are also in the road sector.

The biggest of these is the development of a new civil enclave at the Bagdogra Airport in West Bengal at a cost of Rs1,549 crore. It is expected to be completed by March 2027.

Telangana has one of the new projects: the construction of a four-lane access-controlled green-field highway section on the National Highway-163G between Khammam and Vijayawada. Approved in March 2023, it is expected to be complete by August 2026 at Rs983.

Of the total 1,747 infrastructure projects in the country, 608 are mega projects - that is, those in-volving investment of Rs1,000 crore or more. These projects are estimated to cost Rs2,102,065.77 crore.