MORE money will be needed from the government if the south's ambitious supertram project is to get back on track.

Council leaders from Hampshire and Portsmouth made the admission following yesterday's crunch talks on the project's mounting costs.

Portsmouth's transport boss Alex Bentley last week threw doubt on the future of the Light Rapid Transit Scheme (SHRT1), saying he could not ask city ratepayers to stump up an extra £8m after it was revealed the overall cost of building the supertram had escalated by £100m to £290m.

But yesterday he said the meeting between Portsmouth's united all-party delegation and county council leader Ken Thornber had gone "very well".

However, in a joint statement issued by the two authorities, Mr Thornber admitted more money needed to be found and that an approach would be made to the government to make up the shortfall.

He said: "The county and city councils have agreed their joint commitment to the project, and will investigate other means of finding the additional funding which will help secure its successful delivery.

"The bids we received indicated that the current market has been affected by recent private sector experience in constructing and operating modern light rail systems, and there is now a commercially sensitive approach to taking on some of the risks involved.

"This applies not only to SHRT1, but other schemes being procured elsewhere in the UK."

Much of the extra cost is being blamed on making the tunnel under Portsmouth Harbour deeper to accommodate the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers.

The LRT linking Fareham, Gosport and Portsmouth is due to be up and running by 2007 once a consortium to oversee the project is chosen later this year, subject to successful application for extra money from the government.