Copenhagen’s City Ring will not open until the summer of 2019 and cost an estimated 22.3 billion kroner – which seven months late and one billion over budget. That is according to a statement from Henning Christophersen, the chairman of the board of Metroselskabet, the company behind the City Ring.
“The Metro construction has been going through a difficult period with all the construction bans over the past year,” he said.
"The Transport Ministry and parliament have set fixed limits for the remainder of the construction period, and we look forward to moving forward so we can finish the City Ring.”
Christophersen said the new agreement between the government and Metroselskabet would ensure that the company will be able to guarantee the salaries and working conditions of the employees on the construction project.
Metroselskabet negotiated the new timetable with the contractors, Copenhagen Metro Team and Ansaldo STS, during the summer once it became clear that the project would not come in on time or on budget.
The never-ending story
The project has been plagued by delays and technical and human issues since its beginning.
Workers have complained about poor working conditions, while neighbours have complained about the noise and disruption caused by the round-the-clock work, actually managing to get the work stopped for a period of time.
READ MORE: Metro fears six-year delay for City Ring
Rigsrevisionen, the national audit office, has previously criticised Christophersen and Metroselskabet for poor management. It concluded in a report last month that the project would not be finished on time, rejecting Metroselskabet’s claim that the delays and cost overruns were due to slow approvals and neighbour complaints.
