Australia's Snowy Hydro project cost blows out to estimated $18 billion

Australia’s Snowy Hydro 2.0 expansion could cost up to A$25 billion (about $18 billion) and may not finish until the end of the decade, according to a review published on Friday. The estimate is roughly 12 times the original A$2 billion budget announced in 2017. Four years after construction began in 2019, the project’s cost had already been revised to A$12 billion with a 2028 completion target. The updated review says it will cost at least A$22.2 billion, with contingencies potentially pushing the total to A$25 billion, and operations starting no earlier than late 2029. Machine tunnelling is 65% complete; the project has faced ground collapse and contractor issues.