Metro 3 project under fire from Court of Auditors

The future of the Metro 3 project is even more uncertain following a preliminary report from the Court of Auditors concerning its financial viability.

The report, which still needs to be supplemented with comments from the ministers involved in the project, notes that the Brussels region "still faces a funding shortfall for Metro 3 of almost €4 billion, while the consolidated gross debt in 2024 amounted to around €14 billion".

Initially presented as a solution to congestion in the capital, the total cost of the Metro 3 project has risen dramatically since 2015, leading to a cost overrun of 255% in 2024. Its expected date of completion has also been delayed by 10 years.

The report criticised a lack of transparency that hampered the audit process, along with various shortcomings in the work on the tunnel under Palais du Midi.

It went on to criticise the management of the contracts for the conversion of the existing pre-metro stations and recommended opting for a project that "takes budgetary constraints into account" and "provides a mobility solution" with a better cost-benefit ratio.

When the numbers are examined in more detail, delays and cost increases are even higher than 10 years and the 255% figure.

The feasibility study completed in 2012 estimated an investment of less than €1 billion and a commissioning date of 2020. Today the bill is close to €4.76 billion, an increase of 477%.

For the extension phase between Bordet and Brussels-North station alone, the cost has jumped 759% from €400 million to €3.43 billion.

In light of these figures, the Court of Auditors called the financial sustainability of the project "seriously compromised".

The initial schedule has now been delayed by 15 years, with full commissioning scheduled for 2035.

The report notes that serious consequences land on the people of Brussels as a result: the current oversaturated metro network will continue to be under severe pressure and goals to reduce car pollution and transition to sustainable mobility are being undermined.

“The Metro 3 project suffers from weaknesses in both project management and compliance with public procurement legislation,” reads the report, which was shared with a number of news organisations.

“The tender documents contain ambiguities and errors, and legality is not systematically respected.

"The management of the project is characterised by a lack of transparency and caution, which leads to coordination difficulties between the various project stakeholders and does not take into account the opinions of the bodies involved in the management of mobility infrastructure."

Among other criticisms, the court noted that poor archiving of decisions complicates the traceability of choices.

Brussels public transport operator Stib has recently presented five main scenarios for the project, all based on a decision by the Brussels government that was expected in July 2025, with any delay implying a complete recalculation of costs and deadlines.

The first involves a full continuation of the project with traditional financing amounting to €4.375 billion and an operational date of 2040; or with financing from a public-private partnership, which would incur 40 years worth of debt totalling €7.743 billion and would delay operations under 2042.

Stib called this option "the one that best meets the mobility needs" of the capital in the medium and long term.

A second scenario entails abandoning the extension to Evere, reducing costs to €1.653 billion.

But the absence of a depot on this line would significantly reduce the frequency of the line, requiring a complete review of the regional mobility plan and €95 million in compensatory investments in the "tram masterplan" to maintain surface service.

The third scenario would be a 10-year pause on the entire programme, which would cost €4.807 billion, including €200 million in costs for pausing and resuming work.

The deadlines would be postponed to 2042 for Brussels-North to Albert and 2048 for Brussels-North to Bordet, almost 30 years after the initial deadline of 2020.

A fourth scenario involves a partial pause on Brussels-North to Albert and the abandonment of the extension to Bordet, costing €1.967 billion, including €180 million in stoppage and restart costs.

The Albert section would not be completed until 2042, 22 years after the initial deadline.

Adding a tram service on the abandoned line would bring the bill to €2.117 billion, without changing the completion date.

The fifth and final scenario would be total permanent abandonment.

Scrapping the Metro 3 project would cost at least €1.002 billion, including €223 million in abandonment costs, €546 million in lost investments and €233 million in tram compensation.

This option would require a complete overhaul of the regional mobility plan. A variant with compensatory tram service on the section to Bordet would add €150 million to this abandonment bill.