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The outgoing chair of the Metro Vancouver board has launched an independent review of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant Program that has ballooned in cost from $700 million to $3.86 billion.
On Tuesday, George Harvie — who is also mayor of Delta — said the review was needed to address concerns from the public about the cost overruns.
“Since announcing the cost estimate for the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant Program (in March), we have heard concerns about whether Metro Vancouver is managing costs effectively for the public,” Harvie said in a prepared statement.
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“We take these concerns seriously and as such, as the chair of the board, I am initiating an independent review of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant Program costs.”
Metro has conducted its own review of the problematic North Shore project, but much of that information is caught up in litigation between the regional district and the former contractor that it fired from the job, said chief administrative officer Jerry Dobrovolny.
Dobrovolny said that since he was hired in 2019 he had established a project delivery department and restructured the procurement and real estate services department.
“The current environment for delivering major infrastructure projects is very challenging, and it’s important that we take a realistic approach to estimating the cost of these projects so that we can provide the region with enough lead time to plan for how the costs will be managed,” he said.
The North Shore replacement plant was originally set to be completed by 2020 for $700 million and is now expected to be complete in 2030 at a cost of $3.86 billion.
Last month, Delta city council voted to strip Harvie of his role on Metro Vancouver’s board and to tighten controls on his office. He is set to be replaced on July 1.
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