Over ₹4.82 Lakh Cr Cost Overrun for 431 Infrastructure Projects

An official report reveals that 431 infrastructure projects, each requiring an investment of ₹150 crore or more, faced a cost overrun of more than ₹4.82 lakh crore in December 2023. According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), out of 1,820 monitored projects, 431 experienced cost overruns and 848 faced delays. The original cost of these projects was ₹25,87,066.08 crore, but the anticipated completion cost is expected to reach ₹30,69,595.88 crore, indicating a cost overrun of 18.65%. Despite expenditures reaching 53% of the anticipated costs by December 2023, delays persisted, with 638 projects behind schedule based on the latest completion timeline. Reasons for delays include issues with land acquisition, obtaining clearances, and lack of infrastructure support, among others. The report also attributes delays to state-wise COVID-19 lockdowns imposed in 2020 and 2021.