Around a third of these (about Rs 80,000 crore) are estimated to be awarded in the next four years for companies involved in the construction of large irrigation projects, it added.
It further said the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) has identified 30 ILR projects (16 peninsular river links and 14 Himalayan River links) to be funded by the Government of India (60 per cent) and the balance by the state governments.
The Centre’s thrust on the water sector has increased significantly over the past few years, ICRA said and added that this is visible in the increase in budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJ) to over Rs 78,000 crore.
“The four-priority links are just the beginning of the decade-long plan of the ILR project implementation. While the share of these projects as a percentage of budgetary allocation to the ministry is currently minimal, at about 5 per cent i.e. Rs 3,908 crore, it is expected to increase as more projects get approval and awarding/construction gains momentum,” Chintan Lakhani, Vice President and Sector Head – Corporate Ratings at ICRA, said.
The NWDA has identified four priority projects — the Ken Betwa, Kosi-Mechi, Parabati Kalisindh Chambal and Godavari-Cauvery links — for early implementation. The Godavari-Cauvery project is the largest of the four (at 45 per cent of the cumulative project cost) and the Kosi-Mechi link is the smallest at 4 per cent.
The first awarded ILR project (accounting for 21 per cent of the cost for priority links), the Ken Betwa, is already under implementation, it said.
Content Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com