The Edinburgh Evening News has reported that a third of the project budget for the Trams for Edinburgh project has been spent already – and before any of the tracks have been laid. The paper got the figures from a Freedom of Information Act but tie have revealed that the project remains on budget and on time.
The news that £177 million has been spent so far was not met with enthusiasm by those who don’t really want to see trams back on the streets of the capital. Cllr Nick Elliott-Cannon, SNP Finance Spokesman, said: “It is scary how much money was spent on the project without a shovel going into the ground. While there are a lot of things you can't factor for in a job of this scale without actually starting, a third of the money is gone without a single track in place. They seem to have spent a great deal of money on design and modelling but have still managed to get so many things wrong. I am deeply worried about the whole project coming in on budget."
A spokesman from tie replied: “The total public spend profile of the project is now one third complete. This includes costs associated with contract procurement, land purchase, design and planning. The construction is now 20 per cent complete and the project is on plan to commence a revenue service for the full network in July 2011."
Source: The Scotsman