The National September 11 Memorial Museum in New York will not be ready in time for its planned 2012 opening on the 11th anniversary of the attacks, due to a financial dispute between agencies involved in its construction, says a Reuters report.
Arguing over money are the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which is overseeing construction at the World Trade Center site in downtown Manhattan, and the National September 11 Memorial Foundation, which designed the museum and raised money for its construction, the report says.
The Port Authority says the foundation owes it about $300 million for construction costs, while the foundation says the Port Authority owes it about $146 million because of construction delays.
"There's no chance of it opening on time," Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who chairs the foundation, said in the report. "Work has basically stopped."
"I think that (the) most important thing about this museum is getting it right," said Joseph Daniels, the foundation's president.
According to the report, both sides said they were working to find a solution, but a revised opening date has not been announced.
"We are working with the city to resolve the issue," Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said in the report.