Amsterdam’s Noord-Zuidlijn metro route will be extended to Schiphol airport and Hoofddorp within the next 10 years, the Volkskrant said on Thursday.

The city’s new metro line, which is just 10 kilometres long, opened in July 2018 but critics say officials wasted an opportunity to make a link to the airport, which is becoming increasingly difficult to reach by car.

The Volkskrant says the cost of the extension south will be at least €3bn, in line with the final cost of the current route.

Seven groups, including local authorities, airline KLM, the airport and rail companies are involved in the plans, the paper said. They plan to invest in the project themselves but are also hoping for a ‘substantial’ contribution from the state.

‘The state wants to see plans which will make the Netherlands future proof in terms of infrastructure and mobility,’ NS chief Roger van Boxtel told the paper. ‘We have worked on this plan for two years and now the ministry has opened the door.’

The plan envisages running the metro above ground, parallel to the A4 motorway, with its own dedicated station at Schiphol. The metro currently ends at Amsterdam Zuid railway station, which is being transformed into an international hub.

Despite the Volkskrant’s claim, a spokesman for the infrastructure ministry told broadcaster NOS that the plan is ‘far from certain’ and ‘one of the many options currently being looked at.’

The Parool reported in January that Amsterdam officials and Schiphol airport had reached agreement on tackling the airport’s public transport problems, including the option of extending the city’s new metro route to the main terminal building.

The NS also has plans to introduce a special ‘eight trains an hour’ service between Amsterdam’s central station and Schiphol from 2023.