Taxpayers will fund compensation payments to disgruntled tenderers of the NSW government's $5 billion Sydney metro plan that has been officially shelved.
Premier Kristina Keneally would not disclose how many millions of dollars had been lost on the failed project but says private contractors will be compensated.
"We will reimburse all reasonable costs for the CBD (metro)," Ms Keneally told reporters in Sydney.
She fronted a throng of reporters on Sunday to announce the government's Metropolitan Transport Plan, which spells out the axing of the CBD metro project.
Ms Keneally would not reveal how much it will cost taxpayers to placate the disgruntled construction consortiums or how much more money has been lost on government expenditures to date on the project.
"I'm not going to speculate on that, except that we have a commitment to reimburse," she said.
Up to $60 million had been spent on the project by the construction industry, Australian Constructors Association president Wal King said earlier in February.
Mr King said then that the industry would take "serious issue with this government" if the CBD metro was shelved.
On Sunday, Ms Keneally detailed other highlights of the transport blueprint, which includes the official revival of Sydney's northwest rail link.
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