Date:10/07/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/07/10/stories/2005071001811602.htm

Back Time saved is money saved

How is cost controlled in infrastructure projects that tend to overrun original estimates and deadlines?

Satyanarayanan,

By e-mail

Cost escalation is a project manager's nightmare. An infrastructure project involving construction/erection period is more susceptible to this danger. Which is why the accent is always on compression of the completion period. But this is easier said than done. The Delhi Metro project has been the envy of many. It has been proceeding exactly as planned thanks to threadbare planning and meticulous implementation. The Dabhol power project, on the other hand, suffered from cost overruns because it was always behind schedule, bogged down by controversies.

Cost control is not the burden of the cost accountant or finance manager alone. The entire project team must be imbued with cost consciousness.

The author is a Delhi-based Chartered Accountant.

(Send in your questions on real estate to TheRealMcCoy@rediffmail.com)

S. Muralidharan