New Delhi, Feb 21 (IANS): As many as 448 central sector infrastructure projects have reported a cost overrun of over Rs 4.02 lakh crore as of February 21, 2021.

The monthly Flash Report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation said that 539 projects are running behind schedule.

"Total original cost of implementation of the 1,739 projects was Rs 22,18,210.29 crore and their anticipated completion cost is likely to be Rs 26,20,618.44 crore, which reflects overall cost overruns of Rs 4,02,408.15 crore (18.14 per cent of original cost)," it said.

The expenditure incurred on these projects till January 2021 is over Rs 12.29 lakh crore, which is 46.92 per cent of the anticipated cost of the projects.

"Out of the 1,739 projects, 12 projects are ahead of schedule, 247 are on schedule, 539 are delayed, 448 projects reported cost overrun and 209 projects reported both time and cost overrun with respect to their original project implementation schedules," it said.

The report however, noted that the number of delayed projects decreases to 401 if delay is calculated on the basis of latest schedule of completion. Further, for 941 projects neither the year of commissioning nor the tentative gestation period has been reported.