Public Private Partnership projects got Rs 596.39 crore as VGF in 2014-15

NEW DELHI: The government provided Rs 596.39 crore as viability gap funding ( VGF) for Public Private Partnership ( PPP) projects in 2014-15, which was least in previous three financial years, Parliament was informed today.

Under the VGF scheme, government provides financial support to PPP projects in infrastructure sectors, including airport, railways, seaports, roads, power, soil testing labs and special economic zones, with a view to make them commercially viable.

VGF of up to 20 per cent of total project cost is provided under the scheme. The government or statutory authority that owns the project may, if it so decides, provide additional grants out of its budget up to a further 20 per cent of the total project cost.

The total project cost of PPP projects which got the VGF of Rs 596.39 crore was Rs 3,595.93 crore in 2014-15, as per a written reply to Lok Sabha by Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh.

According to the reply, the PPP projects with a total cost of Rs 17,207.62 got approval for VGF support of Rs 2,534.99 crore in 2013-14.

Total cost of the PPP projects which got VGF support in 2012-13 was Rs 6,166.67 crore in 2012-13. The government had approved VGF support of Rs 1,206.76 crore for these projects.

The Minister informed the House that under the scheme, "as regards medical college, VGF would be admissible only if the proposed medical college is located in the one of the backward districts identified under various schemes of Government of India, provided that there is no medical college in that district as on the date of in-principle approval of VFG by the competent authority."