MOVING SLOWLY

Major infra projects along with cement and steel sectors and the construction equipment industry all have been hobbled by delays and falling sales in recent months and quarters. What's behind all this?

- Ashish Sinha

THE COMMON perception that India is rapidly developing with world-class infrastructure has taken a beating in the wake of the recent revelation that many of the marquee infrastructure projects in the country are hobbled by delays and massive cost overruns.

Take, for example, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, which is expected to transform India’s infrastructure landscape. Originally slated for completion by January 2023, the project has seen its timeline pushed back a couple of times -- it is now expected to be fully operational by the second half of 2025, a full 30 months behind schedule.

The ambitious Bharatmala project, often referred to as a “garland of national highways” is another initiative that has faced major setbacks. Designed to revolutionise the national highway network, the project has hit a roadblock due to cost overruns and financial constraints. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) exhausted the initial Rs 5.35 lakh crore approved for the scheme by June 2023 and approached the cabinet for an additional Rs 5.6 lakh crore to continue the project. However, this request was rejected twice – first in October 2023 and again in January 2024.

The impact of these funding rejections has been profound. Bharatmala’s Phase-I, initially expected to be completed by 2022, saw its deadline extended to 2024 during the pandemic in 2020. However, the timeline has once again been pushed back, this time to 2027-28, marking a six-year delay from the original schedule. Such delays in large infrastructure projects point to systemic issues in planning and execution.

Slowdown Woes