The total outstanding project investments in the country increased by a modest 22.6 per cent at Rs 46.22 lakh crore during the last 12 month period hinting towards a possible sign of recovery.
Though the growth rate was far lower than 41.2 per cent recorded in the 12-month period ended September 2008, given the downturn of first six months and a rebound in subsequent six months, the feat can be termed as satisfactory, projects investment database ProjectsToday said in its latest report.
"Though it will be too early to proclaim a full-fledged revival in project investments, it is certain that in the coming months, we can expect to see investment activities firming up," ProjectsToday CEO Shashikant Hegde said.
The first half of the current fiscal witnessed revival of projects worth Rs 37,600 crore. The period also saw around 21 projects worth Rs 1,27,000 crore achieving financial closures.
In terms of spread of investment Maharashtra retained the premier slot as the total outstanding project investment in the state increased 39.4 per cent. As of September 2009, the state had 6,743 projects entailing a total investment of Rs 5,54,394 crore.
Andhra Pradesh, which witnessed a growth of 28.5 per cent in total project investment cornered the second position followed by Orissa.
West Bengal, whose total envisaged project investment increased by just 14.5 per cent during the year ended September 2009, made a quick exit from the top five league, largely due to the failure of the state government to assure private promoters of timely availability of adequate land.
Among other states, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu reported healthy increase in project investment, while the two BIMARU states – Bihar and Uttar Pradesh failed to attract investment.
The report further highlighted that the projects implementation ratio jumped from 41.2 per cent in September 2008 to 45.1 per cent in September 2009 and private sector's share in the total investment pie moved up from 45.2 per cent in September 2008 to 46.87 per cent in September 2009.
Going forward, the report said it would take at least another six months or so for the projects investment activities to gain pace.
"With financing agencies showing their willingness to lend to long gestation infrastructure projects and private companies willing to join hands with government agencies in developing mega projects in the electricity, roadways, urban infrastructure, power distribution and airports sectors, the outlook for project investment looks very much positive," ProjectsToday said.
