THE “ridiculous” contract for the Edinburgh trams project represented an “extremely poor deal” for the city council, a public inquiry heard yesterday.

A lawyer for several former employees of Transport Initiatives Edinburgh - the council off-shoot which handled the scheme - said the contract “tended to encourage disputes” and that the pricing information within it was confusing.

The statements were made during closing submissions at the official inquiry into the Scottish capital’s troubled trams project.

The probe, chaired by Lord Hardie, is examining why the trams were delivered late, over-budget and with a truncated route. The eventual cost of the project at £776 million was more than double the sum earmarked at the outset.

The cost of the inquiry now stands at £9m, Transport Scotland has confirmed.

Garry Borland QC, representing contractor Bilfinger, said the design of the project, which they had no control over, was “to a very significant degree incomplete” in the run-up to the execution of the contract.

By December 2007 around 40 per cent of the detailed design was lacking, he argued.

The inquiry continues.