The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) recently released a report discussing insights into 431 infrastructure projects in India as of December 2023. All projects included in the report exceeded investments of INR 150 crore and suffered a cost overrun surpassing INR 4.82 lakh crore. The total initial cost of INR 25.87 lakh crore has now jumped up to an anticipated INR 30.69 lakh crore, marking an 18.65% hike. Although 53 percent of the projected cost was spent by December 2023, 848 projects continued to face delays. Reasons included issues with land acquisition, environmental clearances, infrastructure gaps, and pandemic-related lockdowns.
An official report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) revealed that in December 2023, 431 infrastructure projects, each requiring an investment of 150 crore or more, experienced a cost overrun exceeding 4.82 lakh crore. The MOSPI observed 1,820 projects, with 431 reporting cost overruns and 848 facing delays. The original implementation cost of these projects was Rs 25,87,066.08 crore, but the anticipated completion cost is expected to reach Rs 30,69,595.88 crore, indicating an overall cost overrun of Rs 4,82,529.80 crore (18.65% of the original cost).
By December 2023, 16,26,813.80 crore had been spent on these projects, which accounts for 53% of the anticipated cost. However, the report noted that the number of delayed projects decreased to 638 when considering the latest completion schedule. Furthermore, the report highlighted that 298 projects did not provide information on either the year of commissioning or the approximate gestation period.
Among the 848 delayed projects, 202 experienced delays ranging from 1 to 12 months, 200 were delayed for 13 to 24 months, 323 projects faced delays of 25 to 60 months, and 123 projects were delayed for more than 60 months. The average time overrun across these 848 delayed projects was 36.59 months. Reasons cited for the time overrun by various project implementing agencies include delays in land acquisition, obtaining forest and environmental clearances, and insufficient infrastructure.
Other factors contributing to delays included challenges in securing project financing, finalizing detailed engineering, altering project scope, tendering, ordering, and equipment supply, as well as issues related to law and order. The report also identified state-level lockdowns due to COVID-19, enforced in 2020 and 2021, as a significant cause of project implementation delays.
Furthermore, it was noted that many project executing agencies failed to report revised cost estimates and commissioning schedules for numerous projects, indicating that figures related to time and cost overruns are very likely to be underreported.
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