Assam: Some of the 64 ongoing central projects facing time or cost overruns

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: At present, there are a total of 64 ongoing central government projects in the state, with each project costing Rs 150 crore and above. Altogether, the total cost of all the ongoing projects comes to Rs 64,614 crore (original cost).

This was apparent from the 466th Flash Report on Central Sector Infrastructure Projects worth Rs 150 crore and above. The report for August 2024 was published by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation recently.

It is significant to note that some projects suffer from time overruns and others from cost overruns. According to the report, the cumulative expenditure incurred on the 64 projects till August 2024 is Rs 40,480 crore against the original cost of Rs 64,614 crore. The Ministry says the anticipated cost is likely to be Rs 74,346 crore.

In the report, the Ministry mentions that some of the projects are facing either cost or time overruns. One of the projects is the construction of a new integrated terminal building at LGBI airport in Guwahati, approved in December 2016. The original date of commissioning of the project was March 2021, with an approved cost of Rs 1,142 crore. The project has been delayed, and the anticipated date of commissioning now is March 2025. It is also anticipated that the cost will escalate to Rs 2,333 crore. As of August 2024, the physical progress of the project was 63.48%.

Another project, the setting up of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Guwahati, was approved in May 2017. The date of commissioning was originally slated for May 2021. The report says that the project, with an approved cost of Rs 875 crore, is likely to be completed by next month. Physical progress of the work on AIIMS is 98.87%.

AIIMS is already operational, but there is some infrastructure that is yet to be completed.

One more project that needs to be mentioned is the expansion of Guwahati Refinery from 1 to 1.2 MNTPA, along with the installation of catalytic reforming UN. The project was approved in May 2021, and the original date of commissioning was October 2023. It is anticipated that the project will be commissioned in February 2025, with the physical progress until August 2024 being 76.8%. The original cost of the project was Rs 412 crore, and the anticipated cost now is mentioned as Rs 509.84 crore.

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