Residents and businesses in the Capital Regional District would need to foot the bill if an extra $10 million in projected cost increases gets adopted into the budget for the $765 million wastewater treatment project.
A staff report highlights the project’s forecasted cost increase in a monthly progress report submitted to the CRD’s management committee for review this Friday, with a request the new numbers be brought to the board for final approval.
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A second report to the committee, made by an independent review firm, attributes the budget overrun to Vancouver Island’s “construction cost escalation.”
It also suggests cutting around $20 million in additional projected costs to keep spending from climbing to an extra $31 million increase, or 3.6 per cent, from initial budget plans.
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An agreement with federal and provincial governments secured 60 per cent of funding or $459 million.
The facility has a deadline of December 31, 2020 to meet federal regulatory approval.
swikar.oli@goldstreamgazette.com
