Last week, the state's Legislative Analyst's Office came out with a damning indictment of the project's unrealistic cost estimates and poor management.

ECONOMIST: High-speed trains

The parliament's chief executive, Paul Grice, rejected a number of the critical conclusions in the report, including those on cost management, responsibility for programming, the process of reporting cost increases to MSPs and the ability of project managers to cap consultants' fees.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Scotland | Watchdog hits out over Holyrood

The authority added it was currently reviewing the project with the contractor, AmeyCespa, "to ensure the project remains the most cost effective and sustainable solution" for waste management.

BBC: York & North Yorkshire

The FAA has been under lots of pressure to improve project management after a history of delays in implementing improvements and cost over-runs.

ECONOMIST: Clearing the skies | The

The return should reflect such risk factors as the project's technical complexity, the agency's management capacity, the likelihood of cost overruns, and the consequences of under- or non-performance.

WHITEHOUSE: CIRCULAR NO. A-130 Revised