The July 2023 Flash Report provides an update on 1,646 major infrastructure projects in the Central Sector, each costing Rs 150 crore or more.
In the past month, 12 projects were added (11 in the Road sector and 1 in the Telecommunications sector), and 7 projects were completed (4 in the Road sector and 3 in the Petroleum sector). Of the 1,646 projects, 809 are facing delays compared to their original schedules, and 213 projects have experienced additional delays compared to the previous month’s reported completion dates. Notably, 43 of these delayed projects fall under the category of Mega Projects, with a cost exceeding Rs 1,000 crore. Here’s a breakdown of these numbers by sector:
The combined original cost of these 1,646 projects was Rs 23,92,837.89 crore. The projected total cost by the time of completion is estimated at Rs 28,58,394.39 crore. This reflects an overall cost increase of Rs 4,65,556.50 crore, which is 19.46 percent above the original estimate. As of July 2023, Rs 15,21,550.38 crore has been spent on these projects, which constitutes 53.23 percent of the anticipated total cost.
There are two lists, Table A and Table B, presenting the sectors with the highest percentage of cost overruns and the projects with the greatest cost overruns in absolute terms, respectively. Among the 1,646 projects, 17 are ahead of schedule, 475 are on track, 809 are delayed, 388 projects have exceeded their budget, and 253 projects are both delayed and over budget based on their initial schedules. However, if we consider the latest completion schedule, the number of delayed projects decreases to 602. Additionally, details about the year of commissioning and tentative gestation period are missing for 345 projects.
Among the 809 delayed projects, 177 (22 percent) are delayed by 1 to 12 months, 192 (24 percent) are delayed by 13 to 24 months, 318 (39 percent) are delayed by 25 to 60 months, and 122 (15 percent) are delayed by more than 60 months. The average delay across these 809 projects is 37.44 months.
Interestingly, it’s been noted that many project agencies are not providing revised cost estimates and completion schedules for a significant number of projects. This raises the concern that figures related to time and cost overruns potentially underestimating the extent of these issues.
