It is meant to be Rio de Janeiro's equivalent of the Sydney Opera House. Instead it may end up as its Millennium Dome.

The Cidade da Música, or City of Music, is a dramatic complex of concert halls, rehearsal spaces, shops, gardens and cinemas that opened last night in the middle-class suburb of Barra da Tijuca.

At £141 million it is six times over its original budget and it is not even ready. Fire officers allowed the official opening to be held last night but members of the public were not allowed to attend it.

The Cidade da Música was one of the most controversial projects of Cesar Maia, the outgoing Mayor of Rio.

It was put on hold for two years when resources were diverted towards building stadiums for the Pan-American Games, which were held in Rio in 2007 and were regarded as a success that bolstered the bid by the city to host the Olympics in 2016. It is one of the final four candidates.

When work resumed costs went up by 30 per cent and, according to one source, have eaten up a quarter of the construction budget of the city. Eduardo Paes, who takes over as mayor on January 1, called it a profound mistake during his election campaign. He is contemplating withholding the £9.4 million needed to finish it.

Christian de Portzamparc, the architect of the building and the winner of the 1994 Pritzker Prize, said that the project was almost complete. “The mayor told me he wanted to give something to Barra as a public symbol,” he said. “Barra was developed very quickly — many condominiums, no public places.”

There is no denying that the design is bold, in contrast to the characterless shopping malls and apartment towers in Barra. In a city where 25 per cent of the population live in favelas, or slums, however, many believe that the Cidade da Música is a waste of money.

“This project is absurd,” said Rubens Andrade, a councillor and member of a commission that investigated the over-spend. “Rio has many more important things, a lot of music schools and cultural groups that deserve this money.”

The symphony orchestra of the Municipal Theatre in Rio will perform in the building on Sunday and Monday — even though the acoustics are not ready either. “When you do it fast sometimes you lose the quality,” Nanda Eskes, an administrator on the project, said.

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