Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Costlier steel halts railway projects


Soaring steel prices are now threatening to derail India Railway’s projects. Port connectivity links in Paradeep, Orissa, and Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh are likely to be delayed as cost of projects has gone up by over 70% on account of high steel prices. It is likely that the projects would be modified to bring down the cost.

Usually 5 % inflation is considered every year for assessing the financial feasibility of the projects.
The original cost for the 82-km broad gauge Haridaspur-Paradeep line was Rs 444 crore. This has now gone up to Rs 748 crore which is 68% higher than the estimated cost.The news clipping is here.