TWO elements of the HS2 project have received Parliamentary approval for construction... but delivery of the core Phase One route between London and Birmingham and the connecting Phase 2a line to Crewe has been described as unachievable by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA), which acts as the Government auditor.
In a damning summary, the IPA identifies there are major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and benefits. It says at this stage these do not appear to be manageable or resolvable, and the project may need rescoping and its overall viability reassessed.
Major concern
One of the major concerns is outside management control, as it is acknowledged that the scale and impact of inflation has been significant on the construction sector and wider industries.