A number of factors such as hyperinflation, rising costs of materials and delays caused by the pandemic have been identified as reasons behind the project going over its budget.
Manchester City Council's Executive will be asked to approve an additional £29 million in funding to support the construction phase at its next meeting on 26 July. This funding will come from borrowing and will not affect service budgets.
The timescale for the project has also been affected by several obstacles. Work on the building's roof uncovered that the Victorian cast iron drainpipes and gutters are extensively corroded, cracked or split. Cast iron is currently a rare commodity with long lead-in times for deliveries.
Delays have also been experienced on works to create four new lift shafts. Floors, chimney flues and other vertical spaces used to accommodate the new infrastructure are improperly aligned or varying in size, which has caused delays to allow redesign work to take place.
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Additionally, post-Grenfell fire safety standards mean that the fire performance of all materials being used as well as the combinations in which they are being used, has to be certified in laboratory tests or by the judgement of an independent fire engineer. A backlog in the availability of such testing across the construction industry has contributed to further delays. The project is now expected to complete in January 2024.
Commenting on the project's progress, Deputy Council Leader Cllr Luthfur Rahman said:
"This is the biggest heritage project currently being undertaken in the UK. It is benefitting Manchester people now, through job creation and spending with city businesses and it will continue to benefit them for generations to come by safeguarding and improving access to this wonderful building and its artefacts, as well as delivering a transformed and enlarged Albert Square as a world class events space.
"There has been considerable national interest in what we are achieving here, including from the team working on the similarly challenging restoration of the Houses of Parliament.
"The length and complexity of the project is such that it has been buffeted by some unprecedented challenges, the cost impacts of which are magnified because of the sheer scale involved. Nobody is pretending this has been easy but the end result will be something truly special, a source of pride and a remarkable asset for Manchester."
