NSW Premier Chris Minns yet to confirm Metro West rail line will be built despite $11 billion spend

So far almost $11 billion has been spent on works for the Metro West line, but the NSW Premier is yet to confirm it will be completed.

A view of Metro West construction in Five Dock in July this year. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Almost $11 billion in taxpayer funds have already been committed to the Metro West rail line between Parramatta and the CBD – but Premier Chris Minns has yet to confirm it will be built.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal that to June 30, $10.9 billion had been committed to the underground project in signed contracts. More than $7.2 billion had already been spent on the rail line between Hunter Street in the CBD and Westmead.

The breakdown was buried in hundreds of pages of documents tabled to parliament last week. Sydney Metro provided the data to the Premier’s office, who had asked how much had been spent on the project to August 1.

Angela Jeffrey Project Director Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport, NSW Minister for Transport and Roads Jo Haylen and Tim Burns Project Director CPB Contractors Ghella JV underground in a tunnel section at the well-underway Metro Western Sydney Airport. Picture: Richard Dobson

It comes as a parliamentary committee called for bureaucrats to release the project’s original business case, which has to-date been kept secret.

A Labor-dominated committee was tasked with reviewing the Metro West rail project in August.

In an interim report tabled to parliament on Tuesday, chair Lynda Voltz said bureaucrats had refused to release crucial documents.

“We wrote to Infrastructure NSW and Sydney Metro and requested a copy of the original business case. Both agencies denied our request,” the Labor MP said.

The agencies refused to release the business case citing Cabinet confidentiality.

View of Metro West construction in Five Dock. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Ms Voltz said parliament should force the agencies to release the business case.

“Without access to the original business case, the Committee finds itself obstructed in fulfilling our role,” the report said.

Mr Minns threw the Metro West rail line into doubt in July when he described the project as being subject to “extreme cost creep”.

He said the projected cost had blown out to $25 billion – almost $10 billion more than the original budget.

The September budget included $13.7 billion in funding for Metro West over the next four years, but noted that the project was still subject to an independent review.

That review was due to report back last month.

View of Metro West construction in Five Dockin July. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Government sources have confirmed that the Metro line will go ahead, but changes could still be made – like adding extra stations or pushing out the project’s timeline.

On current plans, it will stop at stations including Parramatta, Olympic Park, North Strathfield and Pyrmont. It is due to be finished in 2030.

Last month, a high-powered group of sports bosses wrote to the Premier pleading with him to extend the planned Metro line east, with a stop at the Moore Part Entertainment Quarter.

The letter was the first time that the Alliance of Moore Park Sports publicly called for a new Metro station at the Entertainment Quarter.

“Failure to extend the Metro West to the east of the CBD would be a lost opportunity and consign Sydney to traffic chaos and perpetual arguments about parking,” the sports bosses said.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said an announcement will be made shortly.

“The Government is considering the findings of the Sydney Metro Review and will have more to say in due course,” she said.