As per ministry of statistics & programme implementation (MoSPI) data, half of the ongoing projects in the steel sector, costing nearly Rs 100 crore or more, are lagging behind schedule as of February-end, even as the government is pushing hard for speedy execution of infrastructure projects to boost the sagging economy.
MoSPI data shows a delay in executing 14 of the total 28 projects aggregating Rs 44,500 crore. The delay could lead to substantial cost escalation, pegged at a whopping Rs 6,000 crore.
According to MoSPI’s project implementation department, major delayed projects include the expansion of Rourkela Steel Plant at an estimated cost of Rs 6,133 crore and the development of Bhilai Steel Plant that would have cost Rs 5,185 crore, belonging to the country’s largest steelmaker SAIL. The firm’s annual producing capacity is close to 13 million tonnes, which it aims to ramp up to 26 million tonnes by 2012.