Metro Vancouver is launching an independent review of the cost of a new wastewater treatment plant that is four years beyond its original completion date and more than five times over budget.
The original cost of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant in 2018 was $700 million and it was expected to open in 2020. The estimated cost has since ballooned to $3.86 billion, and the timeline for completion has been extended until 2030.
George Harvie, chair of the regional government’s board of directors, announced an independent review in a statement issued Tuesday, saying the regional government has heard “concerns about whether Metro Vancouver is managing costs effectively for the public” and that they take them seriously.
Metro Vancouver chief administrative officer Jerry Dobrovolny said in the same statement that he welcomes the review. He added that a “realistic approach” is important when estimating the costs of these types of projects.
“The current environment for delivering major infrastructure projects is very challenging,” Dobrovolny said.
The announcement came after B.C. Premier David Eby called for a review of the project.
“I’ve expressed the province’s concern a few times now about resolving what drove the cost overruns on the North Shore plant and I think that the time has really come for Metro Vancouver to hire an auditor, independent of them, to dig into this and provide a report,” Eby said at an unrelated Monday press conference.
Metro Vancouver directors have approved a cost-sharing plan for a new wastewater plant in North Vancouver that has ballooned in cost from an original $700 million to close to $4 billion. Chad Pawson heard from some of the decision-makers involved.
Last week, a group of Lower Mainland politicians urged B.C.’s auditor general to investigate the cost overruns, saying he has the jurisdiction because the province put $200 million toward the project.
The provincial Opposition Party, B.C. United, has previously called for a “full audit and core review” of Metro Vancouver, in part because of the project.
First announced in 2011, the project received little attention until 2021 when conflict between the regional government and the original contractor became public. The project has since faced design changes, rising costs and construction delays.
In March, a Metro Vancouver Board task force determined that the project’s cost has grown to almost $4 billion by taking into account inflation of construction and labour costs, work that was needed to address design and construction deficiencies for the project and how other large infrastructure projects were competing for the same resources.
When completed, the wastewater treatment plant will serve more than 300,000 residents and businesses in the Districts of North and West Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver along with the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.