The major £17m project to revamp the Scottish National Gallery building in Edinburgh has been hit by a delay.
Work on the construction of new Galleries was due to start this March.
However, there will now be a delay of several months to work on the site.
The project aims to revamp the Scottish National Gallery, which sits on the Mound and also over the trainline into Waverley Station.
A statement from the National Galleries of Scotland said: "For the past 6 months we have been working with our main contractor Interserve on the detailed designs and various tender packages for the building work.
"It has become clear that some elements around the delivery of the construction work are complex and potentially more expensive to implement than was originally anticipated."
It adds: "We therefore have to carry out some value engineering in the coming months in order to streamline some parts of the construction and bring the plans into line with our budget.
"In practice this means that we will be re-examining some of the specifications and construction methods for aspects of the design to ensure that the project stays within cost."
The galleries said it hopes to begin work on site later this year.
A spokesman said the aim is still to remain on budget.
He added: "The intention is to work within our budget, which is why we are going through the value engineering exercise in the next couple of months."
The official statement added: "We will continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that there is minimal disruption to The Mound precinct during construction work. In the meantime, the Scottish National Gallery remains open as usual and the highlights of the Scottish collection are on display to the public."
The planned redevelopment of the SNG will triple the exhibition space available to the Scottish collection from 440m to 1320m.
When the currant director general of the National Galleries, Sir John Leighton, joined the institution in 2006, he said the display of Scottish art in the windowless concrete basement resembled an "apology" and he was "deeply unhappy" about it.
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