As Calgarians got their first glimpse of a school built using a public-private partnership on Thursday, provincial politicians extolled the virtues of using 30-year repayment plans to launch a fleet of new schools across Alberta.
But Calgary’s public and Catholic school districts still require nearly $1 billion worth of new schools and repairs.
Local school boards fear the new schools could be the last constructed in the city for the foreseeable future.
On Thursday, the province announced that an international consortium known as B2L Partnership has won the bid to build 10 schools using a public-private partnership.
Five schools will be built in Calgary, while the communities of Okotoks and Langdon will each receive one.
These schools were first announced by the province in January 2008 and will be ready to welcome students in the fall of 2012.
Designed for elementary and middle school students, these are expected to cost $253 million in to-day’s dollars, including construction and maintenance over three decades.
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Partnering with the private sector will save taxpayers $105 million, thanks largely to “economies of scale” offered by packaging them together, said Infrastructure Minister Ray Danyluk.
“We also understand the need for schools and the immediate need. That’s why P3 schools work. They do get built and they get built faster,” Danyluk said.
While the province says the buildings will cost $253 million, the actual cost over the 30-year life of the contract remains unclear.
The $253-million price tag is what it would cost if they were paid off in one lump sum.
Using the same method, the province estimated its first 18 built under the P3 model cost $581.2 million.
But just as mortgage payments add up to more than the purchase price of buying a house, the final bill for construction for these first P3 schools includes $996 million over 30 years for construction costs and interest fees, as well as a further $161.4 million for maintenance.
By using 30-year contracts, the government is needlessly saddling taxpayers with “giant public liabilities” when it can afford to pay for the facilities outright now, said Calgary-Varsity Liberal MLA Harry Chase.
And last week, the auditor general’s office called on the province to better lay out how P3 projects represent a good value for taxpayers by publishing a value for money report.
But Premier Ed Stelmach defended the use of P3s on Thursday, citing Liberal governments in Ontario and B.C. that are also using the controversial partnerships to build hospitals, roads and schools there.
And Education Minister Dave Hancock said P3 projects are a good deal for school boards because they guarantee required maintenance will be completed on the buildings over the next three decades.
The awarding of this latest mass building contract to B2L Partnership comes as nine P3 schools are set to open in Calgary this fall.
The public was given its first glimpse of these new facilities Thursday with a tour of Light of Christ School in Saddle Ridge.
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