Brisbane City Council has spent $80 million on its flagship Brisbane Metro public transport project, while still waiting for the location of a major station in south Brisbane to be finalised.

Figures released by the council in a question on notice by Labor show $80 million has been spent to date until September this year, with the highest amounts going to design and technical investigations, and land purchases.

Concept images for the proposed Brisbane Metro station at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, preferred by the state government to the original location at the Cultural Centre. Credit:Queensland Government

Brisbane Metro has a $944 million price tag, which the council says is fully funded with federal contributions. The project, announced in 2016 by former lord mayor Graham Quirk, is waiting for approvals from the state government.

The LNP administration and the Labor state government have been at loggerheads over the Metro's approval process, after Transport Minister Mark Bailey requested the council investigate relocating its proposed station at the Cultural Centre to underneath the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.