Bhubaneswar: The Odisha chief secretary, Asit Tripathy, Tuesday directed that the implementation of PPP (Public Private Partnership) projects in the State be expedited.

The State is implementing a total of 88 projects worth Rs 18,348 crore under PPP mode. Of this 88, 57 projects worth Rs 8,365 crore have been completed, 17 projects worth Rs 4,861 crore are under various stages of completion and 14 projects worth Rs 5,123 crore are I the pipelines.

At a high level meeting the chief secretary reviewed the progress of the projects, here on Tuesday.

The meeting discussed about upgrading the PPP cell into a directorate for better supervision and implementation of the project. It also proposed that the Cell, which is now functioning in the Planning & Convergece department, be placed under finance department for better integration of budget and off budgeted resources.