A probe has been launched into why the cost of building the V&A at Dundee has almost doubled.
A report to go before councillors on Monday says a “preliminary examination” identified three initial areas of focus and a “full review” would soon be under way.
Director of city development Mike Galloway said: “The building is structurally formed out of a concrete shell. That shell is cast in situ on-site.
“The costs associated with that were much higher than we anticipated and indeed the main contractors had anticipated as well.
“Prior to us going out to tender for this project we had consulted with all the major contractors in Scotland and the UK and sought their advice on the building of the project.
“So, not only was that a surprise to us, it was a surprise to those contractors as well.”
Mr Galloway’s report states that a preliminary review will focus on the “highly complex nature of the building’s structure” and “unprecedented construction inflation”.
It also cites “the unexpectedly low level of market interest from main contractors which reflected the risk levels associated with such a complicated and unique project”.
Mr Galloway added: “The cladding work (cost) on the building was higher than anticipated as well, but we hope we will be able to yield savings on that.
“Not only do we believe we can bring this project in on the budget as anticipated from BAM we will continue to pursue savings wherever they make sense.” Mr Galloway said the council had considered scaling back the project in the face of rising costs.
But he said such a move would not have been enough to keep the budget below £49 million and that people would likely have been disappointed in the final building.
He said: “We did look at potential savings. Scaling back the project would have saved some money but would not have closed the gap and there would have been concerns about the quality of the building.
“So we took the decision that it is better to deliver the project with the building as planned.”
Dundee City Council chief executive David Martin denied there was a sense of embarrassment.
He said: “When construction companies bid for iconic, unique projects like this, sometimes you get a situation where your pre-tender estimates are lower than the contracted price.
“We have to deal with the reality of that. That’s not to airbrush the fact that there are issues here about the original cost estimates.”