By IANS,
New Delhi : Owing to a shortage of long-term finance, it is difficult to achieve the investment target set for the infrastructure sector for the 11th Five-Year Plan period, India’s Economic Survey for 2008-09 released here Thursday said.
The government has estimated an investment requirement of $500 billion in the infrastructure sector for the plan period that ends in 2012 for achieving inclusive growth.
“However, the foregoing analysis indicates that achieving it (target) is a challenging task,” said the survey, presented in parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
“In recent years, tangible progress has been made in attracting private investment in infrastructure. However, such public initiatives are constrained by factors like inadequate shelf of bankable projects and lack of long-term finance,” it said.
According to the survey, issues like disputes over land acquisition, rehabilitation, contractual and environmental issues and shortfall of raw material and skilled manpower delays affect the financial viability of infrastructure projects in the country.