Figures released under the Official Information Act reveal most of the police spend was on staff hours. In Operation Spring, more than $220,000 was spent on travel and more than $200,000 on experts.
Lundy is appealing his latest convictions and although the Court of Appeal has not yet set a hearing date, he has been approved for legal aid funding.
At his retrial, his defence team of London-based Kiwi David Hislop, QC, Ross Burns and Julie-Anne Kincade could each charge $159 an hour under legal-aid rates.
Their bill of $1,775,850 included expert witness expenses and other costs, but paled in comparison to the $3.3m bill for David Bain's retrial.
On the other side of the benches, Crown Law paid lead prosecutor Philip Morgan, QC, about $210,000 for his role in the case from October 2013, when the Privy Council ordered a retrial, to April this year.
He was paid at the Crown rate of $198 an hour.
Fellow prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk was paid from the Palmerston North Crown solicitor's annual funding.
Lundy was jailed in 2002 and spent 13 years behind bars after being found guilty by a Palmerston North jury. He was released after the Privy Council ruled a miscarriage of justice.
After the second guilty verdict Lundy was immediately ordered to resume his life sentence, with a 20-year minimum period.
The Crown's original case was that Lundy, who was in Wellington on business on August 29, 2000, dashed home and killed the pair about 7pm, cleaned up and went back to the capital, where cellphone records placed him just before 8.30pm.
At the retrial, the Crown argued the deaths happened about 3am on August 30, 2000.
Lundy is eligible for parole in 2022.
Police costs
Operation Winter:
• Operating costs, including domestic and international travel and accommodation: $142,071
• Expert costs, including ESR and scientists: $69,459
• Staff hours: $1,129,135
Total: $1,340,666
Operating Spring:
• Operating costs: $224,083
• Expert costs: $202,662
• Staff hours: $1,345,600
Total: $1,772,345
