In a crucial move towards reinvigorating private sector capital investment, the union ministry of finance today announced public-private partnership (PPP) projects worth ₹17 lakh crore for the next three years. 

At a 40% viability gap funding, this would translate into investments to the tune of about ₹10 lakh crore by the private sector in the next three years. 

In pursuance of the Union Budget 2025-26 announcement by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, has created a three-year Public Private Partnership (PPP) project pipeline, said a release from the ministry of finance today. 

PPP project pipeline comprises 852 projects

"The PPP project pipeline comprises 852 projects across Central Infrastructure Ministries and States/Union Territories with a combined total project cost of over ₹17 lakh crore," the ministry said in a release. 

"The pipeline provides early visibility of potential PPP projects to enable investors, developers, and other stakeholders to undertake more informed planning and investment decisions," said the release. 

Central PPP worth ₹13.15 lakh crore

Out of the total 852 projects to be taken up on PPP basis in the pipeline, 232 are central government projects worth ₹13.15 lakh crore, while 620 projects worth ₹3.84 lakh crore will be taken up by the states and union territories. 

The viability gap component from the government in PPP serves as a funding bridge for the private sector. Earlier, the VGF component used to be up to 40% of the project cost for sectors such as highways expressways. 

Highway ministry to implement 108 PPP projects

Central government's PPP projects are divided into four major sectors - energy, social and commercial infrastructure, transport and logistics, and water and sanitation. 

The projects are spread across eight ministries, with the highways sector bagging the bulk of the PPP projects at 108 projects worth ₹8.76 lakh crore, followed by the ministry of power, which will implement 46 PPP projects worth ₹3.4 lakh crore. Railways ministry comes next with 13 PPP projects worth around ₹30000 crore. 

That does not leave much for other segments like ports and shipping, aviation, and water projects and ticket size obviously is low. 

PPP, meanwhile, could be a good way of revitalising private sector investment, which has remained a concern in the economy ever since Covid - 19 pandemic. Andhra Pradesh tops the list of PPP projects in states with 270 projects worth ₹1.15 lakh crore.