One-fourth of Rs 102 lakh crore infrastructure spending in energy sector alone

NEW DELHI: Nearly one-fourth of the Rs 102.5 lakh crore of infrastructure project pipeline announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday will be in the energy sector with roads and railways being the other two big spender sectors.

Announcing the infrastructure project pipeline for the next five years, the finance minister said the spending will help the country nearly double the size of the GDP to USD 5 trillion by 2025.

According to the sector-wise break-up of projects made available by the Finance Ministry, Rs 24.54 lakh crore investment will flow in the energy sector, and of that Rs 11.7 lakh crore would be in just the power sector.

Road projects will account for Rs 19.63 lakh crore while another Rs 13.68 lakh crore would be for railway projects.

Port projects would see spending of Rs 1 lakh crore and airports another Rs 1.43 lakh crore. Rs 16.29 lakh crore would be spent on urban infrastructure and Rs 3.2 lakh crore in telecom projects.

Irrigation and rural infrastructure projects would account for Rs 7.7 lakh crore each. Rs 3.07 lakh crore would be spent on industrial infrastructure. Agriculture and social infrastructure would account for the rest.

Out of total expected capital expenditure of Rs 102 lakh crore under National Infrastructure Pipeline, projects worth Rs 42.7 lakh crore are under implementation, projects worth Rs 32.7 lakh crore are in conceptualization stage and rest under development, she said.

It is estimated that India would need to spend USD 4.5 trillion on infrastructure by 2030 to sustain its growth rate.

The endeavour of the National Infrastructure Pipeline is to make this happen in an efficient manner, she said.

National Infrastructure Pipeline will enable a forward outlook on infrastructure projects, it will create jobs, improve ease of living, and provide equitable access to infrastructure for all, thereby making growth more inclusive, she added.