A special committee on the Metro 3 project held a hearing on Thursday with current and former Brussels ministers involved in its initial development.
In the morning, former Brussels minister-president Charles Picqué (PS) and former budget minister Guy Vanhengel (Open VLD) were questioned. During the afternoon session, Pascal Smet (Vooruit) and current minister-president Rudi Vervoort (PS) took the floor.
Picqué, who served as Brussels Minister-President from 1989 to 1999 and again from 2004 to 2013, explained the division of responsibilities for the project between the Brussels public transport company STIB and the federal Beliris fund.
He claimed the Federal Government wished to remain involved as a co-financier. STIB was tasked with managing the North-Albert section of the line due to its experience with studies related to the Grondwet station and Albertplein.
Picqué admitted regretting not requesting more funding from the Federal Government, saying additional resources could have enabled the development of alternative plans.
He pointed out that, while STIB initiated studies into metro expansion in 2008, significant investments only became feasible after the Brussels Region’s refinancing in 2010.
Regarding the rising costs of the project, he noted the challenges of working underground and the importance of considering geological factors. Picqué also acknowledged difficulties in retrieving government documentation for the committee’s work and promised to supply additional information if found.
Former budget minister Guy Vanhengel, who held his role between 2000 and 2019 with a brief stint in the Federal Government, highlighted that Metro 3 is not the first metro expansion project in Brussels. He referenced previous political debates and projects such as the extension to Erasmus, which was largely funded by Beliris.
Vanhengel emphasised the financial constraints faced by the Brussels Region due to other costly projects, including water purification, the Josaphat tunnel, and overall infrastructure maintenance.
While he recognised the soaring costs of Metro 3, particularly for the North Station-Bordet section—where the budget ballooned from €860 million to €3.1 billion between 2020 and 2024—he attributed the increase in part to high contractor bids and additional demands from municipalities.
He suggested that Metro 3 could still be realised through alternative financing methods, such as public-private partnerships, expanded use of Beliris funds, transport investment budgets from STIB, European Investment Bank funding, or introducing an urban toll.
Vanhengel conceded that the finance department should have implemented better cost controls rather than relying solely on STIB and Beliris specialists.
