Centre lines up infrastructure projects worth Rs 102 lakh crore

New Delhi: In a major push to the slowing economy, the Centre on Tuesday lined up infrastructure projects worth Rs 102 lakh crore across 18 states and union territories (UTs) in various sectors such as railways, urban development, health, water and education.

Unveiling the first report of the Task Force tasked to identify the projects, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Centre and the states would share 39 per cent each of the total cost with the private sector investing the balance 22 per cent.

The Minister said that infrastructure has been a focus of the government in the last six years with projects worth Rs 51 lakh crore (5 per cent-6 per cent of GDP) taken up.

“We are now committing 102 lakh crore rupees for the next 5 years,” Sitharaman said, adding another Rs 3 lakh crore worth of projects would be added shortly.

It may be noted that out of the total expected capital expenditure of Rs 102 lakh crore, projects worth Rs 42.7 lakh crore (42 per cent) are already under implementation while projects worth Rs 32.7 lakh crore (32 per cent) are in the conceptualisation stage.

The remaining projects are under the development stage.

The ambitious plan has been launched even as the private sector’s response, so far, has been tepid and the once-popular PPP model failing to take off.

Most projects in the highways sector have been taken up with the government providing bulk of the funds. But the Centre remains optimistic.

Sitharaman said that the private sector share in the overall infrastructure is expected to reach 30 per cent by 2025. (IANS)

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