The estimated costs for the construction of the Turin-Lyon railway increased from 8,6 to 11,1 billion euros. Moreover, the completion of the project shifted from 2032 to 2033.
The not-so-positive news was included in a cost update presented to the board of directors of TELT, the company managing construction. “This cost estimate has been updated to take into account the completion, in 2023, of the awarding phase of all civil works contracts for the base tunnel in Italy and France”, TELT said in a statement. The project is co-financed by the two countries, partly through funds from the European Union.
The main factors behind the cost increases are the economic volatility that started with the COVID-19 pandemic and limitations due to the geological complexity of the area. Moreover, an increase in demand for public work, in both Italy and France, created a shortage of qualified personnel and raw materials. It also needs to be mentioned that the cost estimations are based on the euro value in 2012, which most agree is roughly 30 per cent lower than the current one.