$aving Fa$e
On Thursday, January 29th, wrote in this space about Gordon Campbell's favorite delusion, the vaunted beauty of the P-3 arrangement. (PPP Yourself)
We learn to day that The Highwayman himself, Kevin Falcon, has decided that Twinning the Port Mann Bridge is out ($1.75 Billion) and tearing the existing bridge down and Building a New One is in.
Cost $3.3 Billion.
Said.
Today.
Come on.
The new PPP Miracle on the Fraser isn't scheduled to open until 2013.
Which means, realistically the true and final cost will be more like $6 Billion.
As this nifty little plan will be written into law, it doesn't really matter whom we elect on May 12th, the fix is in. We, the citizens of this province, will be on the hook for this outrageous malfeasance of duty for decades to come.
This incompetence and dereliction of duty makes the Fast Ferries Fiasco into Playtime, by comparison.
For true insight into how disastrous and predictable this Port Mann Mess really is read Andre Picard's excellent story in today's Globe.
In this PPP, taxpayers are the ones who paid
A report by the Ontario Auditor General on the Brampton Civic Hospital project shows the pitfalls of this kind of financing
The article chronicles the usual trumpeting by a government of a public-private partnership, followed by the inevitable collapse on the part of the private consortium, followed quickly by the bail-out by the government left holding the bag.Can you say, "Olympic Village" Boys & Girls?
Punch line to these horror stories? Moral?
Build civic projects with civic money and quit the bull.
9 comments:
I feel like we're not asking the right questions here. Yes, these P3s are going to cost us for decades, yes it Gordo & Co. handing money over to their buddies, but the question is why?
Why the big push from all levels of government for P3s within the past decade? What has made it necessary to pursue these policies?
Could it be that government is no longer able to afford large projects on a very basic level anymore?
David,
Two questions:
1. What are you proposing instead?
2. I stand to be corrected, but I believe in times past that you have been a supporter of transportation infrastructure projects, saying something like, "I know they're expensive now, but if we wait then they'll be even more expensive in the future." Have your views changed?
Robert
Just double it and add 30% for the bridge construction cost ... and the tolls will either go up to $5, or be extended from 40 years to 65 years.
CANADA LINE.
A billion over budget.
Rammed through with no consultation until after the deal had been made to build it.
Provincial Pet Projects.
Public Pirate Partnerships.
Our democracy is on life suppot.
http://railforthevalley.wordpress.com/2009/02/05/the-new-port-mann-bridge-a-bridge-too-far/
I think this best describes the situation. This bridge has nothing to do about transportation and everything to do about land development.
This is also no P-3 (piss poor ponzi scheme), as the province is acting as banker to the scheme. The province = the taxpayer.
Campbell is merely building a monument to himself and helping his land developer friends at the same time.
127.000 thousand cars/ tolls averaging 5.00$ each way( 2 days after it is opened)
127.000 X 10$ = 1.270.000.00$ per day
1.270.000.00 X 365days = 463,550.000.00 each year
463.555.000.00 X 40 years = 18.542.000.000.00
so at 10 dollar (5.00each way) the tolls will amount to 18 billion dollars
Even if the tolls stayed at 3.00 each way,over 40 years comes to about 12 billion dollars for this bridge.
Who is kidding who?
If I were Gordon Campbell and I needed a house, I should find a stranger to buy it but gift to him double the money needed for the down payment and sign a lease to rent the property in perpetuity for whatever rent he wishes to charge. Also, I personally guarantee his mortgage so the stranger doesn't have to risk a thing.
As the English say, "Brilliant!"
I reckon this project signals the end to the incessant growth in the Lower Mainland.
"Build civic projects with civic money ..."
And go back to the bad old days of ministerial responsibility?
Shocking thought.
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