There has been yet another setback in the project to build a new sea lock at IJmuiden on the North Sea coast – adding a further €64m to the bill, broadcaster NOS reports.

The project’s completion date has already been delayed from 2019 to 2022 and a design fault in the plans is costing construction companies BAM and Volker Wessels a further €100m, it emerged at the end of last year.

Now infrastructure minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen says further problems have emerged, pushing up the price even further.

The two building giants are working together on what will be the biggest sea lock system in the world.

The new lock, 70 metres wide, 500 metres long and 18 metres deep, will allow bigger freight and cruise ships to reach Amsterdam.  When commissioned in 2015, the budget for the project was put at €600m.