The Delhi Metro project that is coming up as one of the latest and unique projects is, according to an Austrian transport policy expert, a sheer waste of public money. The expert said that it was not a viable option for the national Capital. "The Rs 10,571 crore Metro project (for phase-1) is what the country could ill-afford. It has a long gestation period and does not take care of the city's current transport needs. Moreover, the public money is moving into private hands,' said Prof. Hermann Knoflacher, head of the Institute for Transport Planning and Traffic Engineering, Vienna.