* Italian prime minister looks to revitalise slow economy
* Rome metro woes show difficulties of developing projects
* No decision on where line heading despite years of work
* Graphic on Metro C project: http://tmsnrt.rs/1Q9fDeU
By Crispian Balmer
ROME, April 15 (Reuters) - In power for two years, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has initiated many reforms aimed at invigorating the anaemic economy, including his flagship overhaul of the constitution which was approved by parliament this week.
But the woes of a major infrastructure project right under his feet reveal how much work still must be done to get Italy back on track.
Rome's Metro C was meant to link the city's two main cathedrals in time for the Holy Year in 2000. Sixteen years later, the underground line has not yet reached the first church and might never make it to the second, St. Peter's Basilica.
While the initial section of the state-of-the-art driverless network was finally inaugurated in 2014, no-one knows where the underground line will end or when the next station might open.
The state of confusion reflects similar problems besetting myriad business projects in the euro zone's third-largest economy, where, despite Renzi's reform drive, bureaucracy and tangled laws are dragging down Italian development.
"All of the problems, vices and defects of Italian public works are evident in this one project," said Luigi Giampaolino, head of the National Audit Court between 2010-2013 when it launched an initial investigation into early cost overruns.
The builders say that in seven years they have had to make 45 major changes to the original plans because of demands from the state, city and region, which are funding the project, taking into account everything from new safety standards to archaeological finds that were uncovered by their work.
"Trying to manage a major project here is almost impossible," said Fabio Giannelli, the director of the Metro C consortium, which includes Astaldi, Vianini Lavori, a unit of Caltagirone, and Ansaldo STS.
"Look at major Italian contractors over the past four or five years. They have totally changed their work profile and are increasingly working abroad to avoid the problems here."
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Renzi his introduced a welter of changes that he says will get Italy back on its feet, including the constitutional reform that strips the Senate of much of its powers - a move aimed at boosting political stability and ending an era of revolving-door governments that has snarled decision-making.
The government has also introduced a series of measures aimed at simplifying the legal system and regulatory landscape to help speed up major business projects.