That's actually more like the approach taken in the past in the UK for huge infrastructure projects, or road and power station, sometimes via setting up a specific (nation or city) owned company that got funding rounds! Yes, projects turned out more expensive than thought quite often, but it didn't make headlines quite the same. It was managed to stay good value rather than expected to hit a precise penny-accurate budget.

I think the modern tendency to seek cheapest bid, rather than best value, makes it far worse. In trying to save money time and again they end up spending far more...