The Minns government has been inspecting the state’s books since taking office, and claims the former Coalition government hid the true cost and timeline for several stages of the driverless train network.
Internal government documents seen by the ABC show the City and Southwest Metro project is set to cost $20.11 billion, but the “publicly announced” figure under the Coalition was $18.5 billion.
The ABC understands the previously secret price tag may still not build a fully functioning metro, and the final touches could add another billion dollars.
Transport Minister Jo Haylen said she needed to find “solutions” to overspending issues.
“Every day, we are asking more about the Sydney Metro and discovering more key details the former government did not reveal to the public,” she said.
“We are being up-front and honest about the challenges we are inheriting.”
The City and Southwest Metro project will convert the T3 Bankstown line to a metro, with services leaving every four minutes in each direction between Bankstown and Sydenham.
It will link to a new line under the harbour between Chatswood and Sydenham, with stations to be built at sites such as Barangaroo, Pitt Street and Waterloo.
The internal documents show the former government had already budgeted for $20.5 billion.
A business case for the City and Southwest Metro, published in 2016, estimated the project would cost around $12 billion.
But the government announced in the 2022-23 budget that construction costs and the pandemic had pushed it to $18.5 billion.
The government has also flagged a cost blowout of the Sydney Metro West line, which will link the CBD with Parramatta.
It was meant to cost about $18 billion, but internal documents show it will now exceed $25 billion.
Ms Haylen hinted that project may be delayed as the administration comes to terms with the budget situation.
During the election campaign, Labor warned it a would take a more conservative approach to spending on some infrastructure projects announced under its predecessor.
Two further Metro sections — one linking Bankstown to Glenfield and the other linking Parramatta to the new airport line — will be put on the backburner under Labor.abcnew