Cancelled P3 saves $200 million
Wow. Things can change pretty quickly in a day. Apparently the Port Mann Bridge P3 was just too ridiculous.
Jeff Nagel already has a very interesting article in the Surrey Leader on the cancellation of the public private partnership. He includes the following quote from the Partnerships BC boss Larry Blain.
Critics have long said P3s bring higher finance costs because corporations must pay more interest than governments to borrow in order to offset the higher risk.
Partnerships BC CEO Larry Blain said that was a factor in the decision not to proceed.
He estimated $200 million in financing costs will be saved by switching from private to public borrowing.
So if they admit to saving taxpayers $200 million on this one, how much more could they save by cancelling the other planned P3 projects including six or seven hospitals?