Costs of rail and road is just loco as it emerges Sydney Metro West will cost $20 billion
THE true cost of Sydney’s public transport build has been laid bare in leaked documents — with the Sydney Metro West line likely to cost $20 billion and the F6 extension coming in at anywhere from $3 billion to $12 billion.
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THE true cost of Sydney’s public transport build has been laid bare in leaked documents — with the Sydney Metro West line likely to cost $20 billion and the F6 extension coming in at anywhere from $3 billion to $12 billion.
The Transport for NSW estimates also show the Sydney Metro City and Southwest rail project is set to blow out to $13 billion, up from the $10 billion to $11.5 billion previously spoken about.
However, the government last night claimed asset sales after construction would keep the project within budget, with Transport Minister Andrew Constance saying the estimates were high.
The document’s release came after Labor claimed WestConnex may have blown out by $1 billion, saying the cost of the Sydney Gateway section to the port and airport has soared from $800 million to anywhere from $1 billion to $1.8 billion.
The figures are all contained in a leaked April 2017 Transport for NSW document.
Mr Constance said the Gateway would service the “biggest choke point in the nation” and all Opposition Leader Luke Foley was doing was highlighting precisely how much the government was spending on infrastructure.
“Everyone going to Sydney Airport knows how stuffed it is,” Mr Constance said.
But Mr Foley said the alleged blowout would likely end up being paid for by motorists.
“Mismanagement has been rife on this project from day one,” he said. “The budget for WestConnex has now blown out five times. It’s almost at double its original price tag.
“Once again it is only through high-level government leaks that the public is given accurate information on these taxpayer-funded major projects,” he said.
WestConnex Minister Stuart Ayres addressed the claims during Question Time in Parliament.
“Yesterday, I told the House that the WestConnex project has a budget of $16.8 billion — $800 million of that budget is allocated to the Sydney Gateway project,” he said. “The one thing I can say to all of those opposite is that if you want to know how to build infrastructure, have a think about what is happening on this side of the House.”
Mr Ayres accused Labor of trying to create the impression of a “cost blowout on a project that hasn’t even been contracted yet”.
Other project costs listed in the document include $3.4 billion for the Parramatta Light Rail, $1 billion for a diesel fleet replacement and an overall $16 billion for the WestConnex — outside the Gateway.
There was $3.93 billion estimated for a new intercity train fleet — being built in South Korea — and $500 million for a Northern Beaches B-line, with $890 million for Sydney’s Growth Trains. The NorthConnex project came in at its estimated $3 billion. The 2018 rail timetable came in at $690 million with a Circular Quay precinct renewal at $600 million.
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