Massey Tunnel replacement financing costs to total $8 billion
Interest due over 50 years on $3.5B project: document
VANCOUVER — B.C. will pay $8 billion in interest over the next 50 years on the George Massey Tunnel replacement bridge, according to an internal government document.
The project backgrounder, which was obtained and released by the B.C. NDP, shows total interest costs for 2017 to 2068 — the entire construction and tolling period to debt retirement — are forecast at $8 billion, before federal assistance is factored in.
The figure, which has not previously been disclosed, includes $4.9 billion in long-term bonds, $2.2 billion in short-term borrowings and $900 million for a “private partner.”
Project costs are estimated at $3.5 billion, including construction, allowances for inflation and interest during construction.
“The only people that want to build a bridge there are B.C. Liberals and when we, the Opposition, have asked for information about that cost, we get back blank pages,” NDP Leader John Horgan said.
“We were given a leaked document that shows that the actual cost is not the $3 billion it started out as or the $3.5 billion they’re now admitting to, but it could be as high as $12 billion when you build in the interest costs over time.”
In a statement, the Liberals likened the loan to a mortgage and said governments would pay this over 50 years to keep toll rates low for commuters.
When asked why the cost of the interest payments hadn’t been disclosed earlier, Liberal Leader Christy Clark focused on the party’s history as “good money managers” and said the bridge will not result in higher taxes. “It’s going to come in on budget, it’s going to come in on time, and we’re going to get it done like we said we would.”
The Liberals call the Massey “B.C.’s worst bottleneck” and have advocated for its replacement. They say the tunnel is seismically unsound and difficult for emergency responders to access.
Construction on the 3.3-kilometre-long, 10-lane toll bridge is expected to be finished by 2022. Preconstruction work is already underway.
The NDP platform makes no mention of the Massey Tunnel replacement, but Horgan has opposed the bridge and talked about twinning being the better option. He has emphasized that Metro Vancouver mayors — with the exception of Delta Mayor Lois Jackson — also oppose the idea of building the bridge.
The mayors said last summer that they opposed the project because of its cumulative regional impacts. They also cited concerns about an inadequate stakeholder-input process and insufficient access to technical information.
Greg Moore, who chairs the Metro Vancouver board of directors, reiterated Friday that the “expensive” bridge has the support of only one local government and does nothing to encourage people to abandon their cars.
“This bridge will have a direct negative effect on the livability of this region,” Moore said.
The B.C. Green Party has said that it would suspend work on the Massey Tunnel replacement pending a “comprehensive and transparent review of alternatives, in co-operation with the Mayors’ Council.”