Final cost of Aviva Studios set to top £240million, more than double original budget

The final cost of building Manchester's Aviva Studios is expected to exceed£240m, according to the latest estimate revealed in a new report. The budget for the new arts centre which opened as the permanent home of Manchester International Festival (MIF) this summer is set to increase by another £22.2m.

It comes just six weeks after Manchester council agreed to spend an extra £8.7m on the project – but councillors were told that more money would be needed to finish the job. The acclaimed arts centre built on the old Granada Studios site, which will be the home of Factory International, was originally set to cost £110m with construction scheduled to be completed by summer 2019.

However, the project - which has received £106m of funding from Arts Council England and the government, making it the biggest cultural scheme of its kind since the Tate Modern in 2000 - has been heavily delayed and hit by inflation. The latest council report on the rising costs blamed 'the volatile economic climate and the complexity and uniqueness of the building', but said that the 'game-changing' venue is 'definitely worth the investment and worth the wait'.

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As a result, the council's governing executive committee was asked to approve an £8.7m budget increase, largely funded through borrowing, in July. A further request for funding from the council was expected to be made later in the year.

A new report to the council's executive published today (September 5) reveals that this request will be for another £22.2m to be funded by borrowing, taking the total cost of the project to £241.7m. If approved, this additional funding will come from the