The projected cost of the World Trade Centre memorial in New York has soared to €750 million, it was reported today.
The New York Timessaid the $972 million dollar (€763 million) price tag would make the project at Ground Zero the most expensive memorial ever built in the US.
The new estimate comes from a report by Bovis Lend Lease, the construction manager hired by the World Trade Centre Memorial to rigorously analyse the costs, the newspaper said.
It reportedly includes expenses not previously factored in, such as $25 million in insurance and $22 million for museum exhibit design and construction. There is also a $22 million increase in the cost of the entry pavilion to the underground museum.
The report was said to put the cost of just the memorial and its museum at $672 million dollars (€528 million), up 36 per cent from $494 million dollars (€388 million) only four months ago.
And $300 million (€235 million) was apparently identified as being needed for site preparations and infrastructure - nearly triple the previous estimate.
Yesterday New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the costs were skyrocketing and must be capped at $500 million (€392 million). Any higher figure would be "inappropriate" even if the design has to be changed, he added.
Designed by Michael Arad and Peter Walker, the memorial is centred around two huge reflecting pools, at the footprints of the fallen twin towers.
The names of the nearly 3,000 dead will surround the pools underground.
