No. Here ‘pay off a little bit more’ here means ‘be a little bit more profitable’ (than the other types of projects have been) Other examples: Remodeling the kitchen has a reputation for paying off. (Gives a good return on investment) I trained very hard for this marathon. I hope my training pays off. (Produces positive results) It’s obvious that lots of English learners waste time on things that don’t payoff. Unfortunately their teachers don’t emphasize that they need to start by learning to say simple things in an understandable way.