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London must find £1.3 trillion to meet the needs of its ballooning population and maintain its status as a leading global city.

The figure was today set out in an unprecedented “wake-up call” report laying out what transport, technology, energy and other infrastructure will be needed by 2050.

An expert who helped write the report warned that the sky-high cost, akin to funding a London Olympics every three months for the next 35 years, will have to be borne in part by the taxpayer.

Key things the document calls for include:

*New train systems such as a South London Metro and an “R25” Outer London Orbital.

*50,000 new homes every year complemented by 600 new schools and colleges.

*Transformed water and electricity networks.

*An extra 9,000 hectares — 22,000 acres — of green space.

*Being the world’s first capital to roll out 5G mobile.

London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “This plan is a real wake-up call to the stark needs that face London over the next half-century.

“Infrastructure underpins everything we do and we all use it every day. Without a long-term plan for investment and the political will to implement it, this city will falter.”

The London Infrastructure Plan 2050 sets out how the city’s population is due to soar by 37 per cent to more than 11 million by the middle of the century. London is a world leader but Mr Johnson believes it in danger of being overtaken by competitors already strengthening their infrastructure.

But the huge cost of maintaining London’s viability and status is higher than many would have foreseen. The document states that by 2025 we will need to be double the amount of money currently spent on infrastructure.

The Mayor’s Office suggests much of the extra cost can come from the private sector and be met through “better integration, asset management, procurement and forward planning”.

While it insists the intention is not to hit Londoners with a huge extra tax burden, the plan emphasises a call for new Mayoral financial powers.

Commentary Why the capital must have control of its own taxes to foot the bill for an expanding future

John Dickie, director of strategy at business group London First, was on the advisory group that assisted with the document. He called it a “big and ambitious plan that comes with a big and ambitious price tag”. Mr Dickie went on: “We must prioritise ruthlessly and plan and deliver these investments efficiently, but we can’t shrink from the fact that we will all have to pay more. The costs can be shared across users, taxpayers and others who benefit directly, but they cannot be wished away.”

The plan says £60 billion of investment is needed for rail alone, to increase capacity by 70 per cent.

A new South London Metro would see a Tube-like “turn up and go” service with up to 12 trains per hour on lines from south of the river. An R25 rail line circling the capital would service growing areas such as Barking, Abbey Wood, Old Oak Common and Lewisham.

Other transport requirements include a new hub airport, Crossrail 2, a Bakerloo Line extension, the Inner Orbital Road Tunnel, 200km of cycle lanes and new river crossings.

London Assembly Labour Group Leader Len Duvall said parts of the plan were interesting but he claimed the Mayor’s record on delivery of major projects did not match his rhetoric.

He said: “The plan cites the need for East-London river crossings six years after he scrapped shovel-ready plans for one. Despite a cacophony of expert opposition he continues to splurge taxpayer money lobbying for a Thames Estuary airport.

“For all his vision, Boris is in danger of stepping down in 2016 leaving behind a legacy of expensive vanity projects, rather than the world class infrastructure we’re crying out for.”