Construction work on the V&A at Dundee has been delayed and the project has become “the best kept secret in town”, a senior councillor has claimed.
A new report says that just £146,000 had been spent on the project up until August 31 despite plans to splash out £11.395 million on the museum before March 31.
It is understood that the gap between spending to date and the 2014/15 budget is because preferred contractor BAM Construction, and the city council, have yet to agree a fixed price for the project, which has had a £45 million price tag for several years.
The council has held confidential talks with the firm in a bid to find savings amid fears that the iconic waterfront structure could cost millions more to build.
Those discussions are still ongoing and Councillor Will Dawson, city development convener, admitted that they had caused a delay, with official documents previously planning an August start for the V&A’s construction.
He said: “With a project of this complexity, you are going to get delays. We had a timetable previously, which gave an idea of where we wanted to be at what time.
“Since then, tenders have been placed and we have had to go into further negotiations.
“Work has been delayed slightly by this process, but we have got to get the best possible value for the city, so we need to make sure the price is right and that adds time.
“The talks will last for as long as it takes.”
However, city council Labour group leader Kevin Keenan says councillors outwith the administration “are not getting the information needed to establish a true picture”.
He said: “The officers involved in the V&A project have decided that it is the best kept secret in town and only those involved in the administration know what is really going on.
“My own personal opinion is that the project is miles off budget and I don’t believe that it is on track either.
“I don’t believe they are meeting their cost envelope, which is a real problem.
“The project poses a lot of economic risk to the city and I wouldn’t want to see any potential economic growth for the city falling flat on its face.”
A spokeswoman for BAM Construction said: “BAM Construction is continuing to work on the detailed planning of the project, so that we can prepare a fixed price proposal to Dundee City Council.”