The cost of the Melbourne Metro Tunnel has blown out again, this time to $13.48 billion, with the Victorian government blaming unprecedented cost overruns.
Another $837 million from the public purse will have to be spent on the rail tunnel through the Melbourne CBD, Transport Infrastructure Minister Danny Pearson announced in a snap press conference on Thursday.
The Cross Yarra Partnerships consortium building the tunnel will tip in a similar amount.
The project was costed at $10.9 billion when it was first announced in 2016. There have been other cost increases since.
Deputy Opposition Leader David Southwick said the hiked cost was the latest in a string of over-budget transport projects.
“There’s not a project here in Victoria that hasn’t blown out,” he said.
“Labor just blow taxpayers’ money like there’s no tomorrow … Victorians would have to ask where is this money coming from?”
Pearson said Victoria was not alone in dealing with cost overruns.
“We’ve seen a 22 per cent increase in building and material and labour costs since 2021 and that’s had an impact on a number of projects in Australia,” he said.
“If you look at the Metro tunnel in Sydney, that saw a $9 billion increase in its budget last year.
“We’ve seen inland rail more than double to $30 billion and we’ve seen Snowy Hydro 2.0 more than double to $12 billion – so the reality is it is just costing more anywhere in the world.”
The Metro Tunnel project is expected to open in 2025.
-AAP
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