Residents of Metro Vancouver’s North Shore are absorbing news that a new water filtration plant is more than $3-billion over budget and 10 years behind schedule, and will cost each household in the region hundreds of dollars extra on tax bills for decades.
Local politicians are hearing from taxpayers. Some in the District of North Vancouver are learning their tax bills could increase by as much as $725 a year for 30 years. Residents in other parts of Metro Vancouver could pay between $70 and $140 a year over the same period. “To me, this is about public confidence,” he said. “What have we put in place to prevent this from happening again?”
He added that many things contributed to the increase in the project’s estimated cost, including the impact of the pandemic and rising material and labour costs. By the time officials were ready to issue a new contract, Mr. Dobrovolny said, public projects had entered a new era. Bidders would no longer agree to fixed-price deals, because the prices of financing, materials and labour were rising too rapidly.As a result, he said, governments are having to take on risks that contractors were previously willing to assume.
Acciona claims an engineering firm had assessed the site and found that it was not the most feasible option and would be more expensive to build on than other sites.