Disbelief is now creeping into almost anything the Victorian Government announces they will do or updates on what they are currently doing. A lot of what we are hearing now in this great city and state smells of cover-up, receipt and just plain old incompetence.
We are all at a significant loss now on how two 9km tunnels, a total of 18 kms of track, plus 5 railway stations can cost a minimum of $15.5 billon dollars. How big a deal is it really?
Sydney Metro extension was over budget by $9bn, an 81% overrun from the initial $11.5bn estimate. The Metro Tunnel project was budgeted at $10.9bn and is now estimated to cost $15.5bn, a 42% overrun.
Don’t get me wrong I want to see the Metro Tunnel open and being used by Melbourne, hell I was not around when the City Loop was completed and I can imagine people up in arms about the investment who worries about that now when the city loop is a vital transport system for Melbourne?
The Metro Tunnel will be the same as the above and we will be thanking Jacinta Allan for the foresight of the project but not the cost.
The more frustrating part is the wait for it to open. The delays have created holding costs for the subcontractors I imagine. The question is what caused the delays and what are the holding costs and why?
Victoria is going to get much worse economically over the next few years before it gets better. Should this be a cost of progress or are we being had by extremely poor management of the project.
