EU transport megaprojects dogged by delays, overruns: report

BRUSSELS

A series of European Union-funded "megaprojects" to better connect the continent are running well behind schedule — and significantly over-budget, a watchdog said.

From the Lyon-Turin rail link to the Canal Seine Nord waterway, an EU goal to complete a group of cross-border links by 2030 "will not be met," according to a report by the European Court of Auditors (ECA).

"Three decades after most of them were designed, we are still a long way from cutting the ribbon on these projects, and a long way from achieving the intended improvements in passenger and freight flows across Europe," said the ECA's Annemie Turtelboom.

The ECA audited eight projects forming the backbone of EU plans to boost road, rail, water, and air transport across the 27-nation bloc in a bid to spur trade and economic growth.

Touching 13 countries including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, France and Italy — the projects have received 15.3 billion euros ($17.8 billion) in EU funding and accumulated on average a 17-year delay, the auditors found.

This was down to a series of challenges, such as unexpected technical issues as well as the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's war on Ukraine, it said.

Meanwhile costs have ballooned.

Not considering inflation, the overall price tag for the projects analysed was up 82 percent on the original estimates, the report said.