According to an official report, 448 infrastructure projects, each with an investment of Rs 1.50 billion or more, experienced a cost overrun exceeding Rs 5.55 trillion as of April 2024. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), which oversees infrastructure projects costing Rs 1.50 billion and above, reported that out of 1,838 projects, 448 faced cost overruns and 792 were delayed.

The total original cost of the 1,838 projects was Rs 27.64 trillion, and their anticipated completion cost is estimated to be Rs 33.19 trillion, indicating an overall cost overrun of more than Rs 5.55 trillion, according to MoSPI's latest report for April 2024.

The report also highlighted that the expenditure incurred on these projects up to April 2024 amounted to Rs 16.93 trillion, which is 51 % of the anticipated cost. However, the number of delayed projects decreased to 514 when the delay was calculated based on the latest completion schedule.

Of the 792 delayed projects, 220 experienced delays ranging from 1 to 12 months, 192 were delayed by 13 to 24 months, 259 by 25 to 60 months, and 121 by more than 60 months. The average time overrun for these 792 delayed projects is 35.4 months.

The report cited various reasons for the time overruns, including land acquisition issues, environmental clearances, financial problems, contractual and internal issues, manpower shortages, and litigation. (Source: Business Standard )