Amsterdam Metro: Six Years Delay, 1.7 Billion Euro Overrun

The Commission of Inquiry of the Amsterdam Municipality into the Metro North-South line has concluded that the municipality should have decided against its construction 2002. There was a political desire to push this project ahead and the technical, organizational and financial risks were considered secondary to that. Amsterdam lacked the competence to assess the risks and the project organization lacked experience and authority, while the officials in charge were incompetent. The city management failed to consult experts, nor did they meet their commitments to assess the major nuisance to the population. The cost of the metro will now be 3.1 billion Euro as against 1.4 billion budgeted. The metro is expected to be in operation in 2017, six years later than originally planned.
www.volkskrant.nl/binnenland/article1327429.ece/Aanleg_Noord-Zuidlijn_fout_besluit