The Office of the Contractor General (OCG) is reporting a massive $1.2 billion in cost overruns for 15 of the 410 government contracts the oversight body monitored last year.

In his 2011 annual report, which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, Contractor General Greg Christie raised alarm about the significant cost overruns on government projects.

According to Christie, the number of construction projects monitored by his office was minimal when compared with the number of projects undertaken by public bodies. In this regard, the contractor general said there should be cause for great concern.

"If the total for overruns on all government projects were to be captured and added, the resulting amount may be very frightening, to say the least," Christie pointed out in his final annual report to Parliament.

He urged the Government to put stringent measures in place to guard against huge cost overruns.

The outgoing OCG boss said in cases where higher-than-projected costs could have been avoided, "the culpable parties should be held accountable and the appropriate penalties imposed. The same should also apply to instances of variations on projects".

Christie will demit office on November 30 at which time his seven-year contract expires.