Central projects facing cost & time overruns in Assam

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Several Central Sector Projects of Rs 150 crore and above are facing cost and time overruns in Assam.

This has been revealed in a recent report of the Infrastructure and Project Monitoring Division of the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.

According to the report, 46 Central Sector Projects of Rs 150 crore and above were underway in Assam as on May, 2022. The original cost of these projects was Rs 46,846.15 crore, but the anticipated cost has escalated to Rs 59,814.26 crore. The cost overrun involves 14 projects and an overrun percentage of 53.45.

Similarly, 14 of the 46 projects are also facing time overruns. According to the report, the time overruns range from one month to 89 months.

It is pertinent to mention that the 46 projects in question are spread over sectors such as Civil Aviation, Health and Family Welfare, Petroleum, Power, Railways and Road Transport and Highways.

The projects which are witnessing time overruns include, among others, construction of a new integrated terminal building at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International (LGBI) Airport at Borjhar, Guwahati; construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Changsari, Guwahati; construction of the 176-km-long new railway line connecting Bongaigaon and Guwahati via Goalpara; construction of the new broad guage railway line from Tetelia to Byrnihat (National Project); 4-laning from Kaliabor Tiniali to Dolabari; 4-laning from Rangagara to Kaliabor Tiniali; 4-laning from the end of Moran Bypass to Bogibeel Junction; 4-laning from Jorhat to Jhanji, etc.

On the other hand, projects with anticipated cost overruns include, among others, the 102-km-long Digaru-Hojai railway line; 2-laning from Kanubari to the start of Bogibeel Bridge approaches of NH-52(B) (extension); and 4-laning from end of Moran Bypass to Bogibeel Junction, etc.

The report is a clear indication that there is an urgent need to improve the project-monitoring mechanisms in order to ensure expeditious execution of Central Sector Projects in Assam.

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