Ferry terminal final cost still being calculated

The final cost of the Isle of Man ferry terminal in Liverpool remains unknown, the Treasury Minister has said.

The terminal opened in June, and the bill to taxpayers spiralled from an initial £38m to at least £70.6m following a raft of delays.

Alex Allinson told Members of the House of Keys that while the building was now operational, calculation of the final cost was ongoing and subject to legal adjudication.

He confirmed the total price tag would be more than the previously calculated £70.6m, but told the House of Keys the total might not be known until into the second quarter of next year.

The new terminal was opened in June when the first passengers arrived on the fast craft Manannan.

Allinson said the current legal adjudication was on a "range of payments" made by the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) to various contractors, and some of the payments that were being requested were in dispute.

There was a capital contingency as well as a capital inflationary contingency budget to "deal with" some of the "overspend that we have seen", he said.

But Julie Edge MHK questioned where additional money would come from if the final cost amounted to more than the balance of the contingency funds.

And Chris Thomas MHK noted that the final cost could be agreed after the 2025-26 budget.

Allinson said while he would like to know the final cost now so it could be budgeted for, the legal adjudication over some of the disputed sums could continue for up to 12 months from the completion of the project.

Treasury was working with the DOI to "come up with a final cost", and the infrastructure minister would then take that to Tynwald for a supplementary vote, he added.

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