THE long-awaited Merseytram project is on the brink of collapse.
A row between Liverpool City Council and Merseytravel, fuelled by apparent personal differences between their chief executives, Sir David Henshaw and Neil Scales, has brought the scheme to its knees.
A deadline for final offers from the two consortia hoping to build and run the trams passed yesterday.
The Daily Post can reveal that neither submitted a bid.
A source at one of the consortia said: "We are staring into the abyss." The intervention of the council last month in demanding that the second tram line serve John Lennon Airport has proved disastrous.
It has infuriated the bidders - the MET and M-tram consortia - who believe it is completely unrealistic to change routes at this late stage.
They have now asked for a two-week extension to review the council's actions and decide whether they will bid at all.
If neither consortium does, Merseytram could not continue.
The region would then face the disaster of losing its second major infrastructure project in a matter of months, after the shelving of the Fourth Grace.
Millions of pounds of Government money - £170m has already been pledged for Line One and a bid made for £192m for Line Two - would be lost.
The collapse of the project would also seriously impact on Grosvenor's £750m redevelopment of Paradise Street.
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