North Shore wastewater plant now expected to cost $3.86 billion
The estimated cost of completing a troubled wastewater treatment plant on the North Shore has ballooned to $3.86 billion, officials revealed Friday.
Metro Vancouver announced the new estimate – described as a "realistic total cost" for delivering the long-awaited replacement project – following a review of the options that was assigned to a task force last fall.
Abandoning the project was never on the table, officials said, as a new plant capable of a higher level of treatment than the existing Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant is necessary to comply with federal regulations.
The North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant was initially scheduled for completion by December 2020 at a cost of $500 million. Metro Vancouver fired the original contractor, Acciona Wastewater Solutions, in October 2021, at which point the project's estimated cost had increased to more than $1 billion.
The two parties remain in a legal battle over the project in B.C. Supreme Court, where each side has filed a lawsuit against the other.
The new plant is now expected to be finished by 2030.
Jerry Dobrovolny, commissioner and chief administrative officer of Metro Vancouver, said the latest cost estimate takes into account several challenges that weren't present when the project was being planned some 13 years ago.
"We’ve seen tremendous changes in market with COVID, with inflation, with rising interest costs and severe labour shortages," Dobrovolny said Friday.
The commissioner said "significant work" was also needed to address "design and construction deficiencies" with the project.
Doberovolny acknowledged concerns around the property tax implications for the North Shore – the project is expected to cost each household approximately $725 annually over 30 years – but suggested the region will be working to secure additional funding from the provincial and federal governments.
The two levels of government previously made a combined contribution of $405 million in 2017.
In a statement to CTV News, District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little said he is “extremely frustrated” with the project.
“Today in particular, I am bothered about the additional costs that the district taxpayers will be forced to absorb to get the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant completed and operational,” Little said. “As I’ve said before, I am really disappointed in the state of the project that the previous contractor left behind.”
But the mayor also said he’s “relieved” the latest cost estimate has been shared publicly so that a conversation can begin around the impact on local constituents.
“I’m looking forward to these conversations and also to getting this project underway again,” Little added.
The plant is expected to serve more than 300,000 residents and businesses in the City of North Vancouver, the districts of West Vancouver and North Vancouver, the wx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation).
The latest $3.86 billion estimate also includes a "preliminary design for decommissioning the old Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant," according to a news release from Metro Vancouver.
With files from CTV News Vancouver's Ian Holliday
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
BREAKING Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, claims he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women in Winnipeg, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial fined him US$1,000 on Monday for violating his gag order once again and sternly warned the former president that additional violations could result in jail time.