The cost to complete Metro Vancouver’s beleaguered North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant has ballooned once again and is now estimated at close to $4 billion.
The new $3.86-billion price tag is up from the last estimate of $1 billion as of 2022 and nearly eight times the initial projection of $500 million. The regional district is forecasting the plant will be “substantially complete” by 2030 with “minor connecting works” in the following years.
“The reality is, the cost to deliver the program has changed significantly since its initial estimate 13 years ago,” Metro Vancouver commissioner and chief administrative officer Jerry Dobrovolny said in a media release.
“In updating the cost estimate, Metro Vancouver took into consideration the many large infrastructure projects in the market today, which are all competing for resources; the cumulative effect of inflation of construction and labour costs; and the significant work that was needed to address design and construction deficiencies.”
The new projection puts the cost to complete the project in the same ballpark as the $4.15 billion Massey Tunnel replacement project and $4.01 billion Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project.
Metro Vancouver said it will confirm a contract to complete the work in the coming months.
Dobrovolny said the new price tag will translate to about $725 per household per year for 30 years on the North Shore. Households in the rest of the region will also be on the hook, paying an average of $70-$140 per year for 15 years.
“They’re staggering numbers and we can’t afford it, we need help from the province and help from the federal government,” West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager said.
In a statement, North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little said he was “extremely disappointed” in the project.
“Metro Van has been working on this project for 13 years and it’s still at least six years away from completion,” he said.
“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.”
Despite the major cost escalation, Little said he was relieved that there was now clarity on the project’s future and called for a public conversation on the impact of those costs to residents.
“We are acutely aware of concerns around how this cost may impact the property taxes and utility rates of residents on the North Shore in particular,” Dobrovolny said.
“We are working on a long-term financial plan to better illustrate to the provincial and federal governments why our region needs financial support to deliver infrastructure projects such as these.”
The update came Friday as the Metro Vancouver board of directors received a report from a task force probing the path forward for a project that has been mired in controversy.
The partially-completed plant at 1311 West 1st St. in North Vancouver will eventually serve communities on the North Shore and replace the aging 1961 plant located beneath the Lions Gate Bridge.
In 2021, Metro Vancouver terminated the construction contract with Acciona Wastewater Solutions LP, claiming the company appeared to have “abandoned” the project and citing delays and skyrocketing costs.
Under the original terms of a public-private partnership, the company was to design, build, and partially finance the plant at a cost of $500 million and with a completion date of 2021.
Acciona sued the regional district for nearly $300 million in 2022, claiming Metro Vancouver had provided an unsuitable site and “conflicting and error-ridden” construction specifications resulting in necessary mid-build changes.
Metro Vancouver later took court action of its own, alleging a confidential report — which included legal advice about the decision to cancel the contract and future litigation — was leaked to the company.
None of the claims have been proven in court.