Sydney light rail cost blows out to at least $2.7b after settlement

The cost of the Sydney light rail ‘public-private partnership’ has blown out past $3 billion. “The cost to the government of paying the private consortium to operate the line for 15 years had previously been put at almost $938 million. It is separate to the capital cost—now at least $2.7 billion—of building the line and buying the trams that will run on it. Labor's acting leader, Penny Sharpe, said taxpayers and businesses affected by construction of the line were paying the price of a disastrous project now costing upwards of $3 billion.” Calls for an investigation were prompted in January when it blew past $2 billion.