Halting work on the project will have multiple impacts on the city, both financially and reputationally, said the city’s chief financial officer
It will cost at least $850 million to wind down work on the Green Line, city officials confirmed Tuesday, adding up to a total price tag of nearly $2.2 billion in sunk costs — without building a single kilometre of track.
Halting work on the project will have multiple impacts on the city, both financially and reputationally, said Male. Doing so will create a “domino effect” that she warned will impact various aspects of the city’s planning operations, as well as its future financial statements.
The city has entered into dozens of contracts pertaining to the Green Line with external parties and Male noted the city, ultimately, is obligated to pay those costs.
“In the ordinary course of a wind-down, various losses, claims and lawsuits may be brought against the city,” she said. “City administration believes the settlement of these actions may result in material liabilities.”
With this liability in mind, Male said the city will be attempting to be “made whole” for all its costs to date, though she and other officials acknowledged the city cannot compel the province to provide that compensation.
Chief administrative officer David Duckworth told council the city cannot bear the risk of additional delays at this stage of the project, calling another pause to Green Line construction “simply untenable.”
“Quite frankly, it’s literally not possible to continue on,” he said. “We don’t have an option.”
Dreeshen placed blame on former mayor and now Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi for the project’s ballooning costs. He indicated the province will commission its own third-party review of the alignment, with that independent assessment to be released by the end of December.
“From an original lack of planning, the Green Line shrunk from 46 kilometres and 29 stations that Calgarians were promised almost 10 years ago down to just 10 kilometres and seven stations,” Dreeshen said.
In a separate report to council, Green Line project CEO Darshpreet Bhatti said about 1,000 people have been employed on the project, including 800 contractors and roughly 200 city employees.
More to come.