The province will provide one-third of the funding to twin the Port Mann Bridge and expand Highway 1, B.C.’s Transportation Minister said yesterday.
Kevin Falcon announced the agreement-in-principle yesterday that could see construction ramp up in the coming weeks.
“On this project initially we (the province) were looking at having absolutely no involvement whatsoever,” Falcon said. “But given the state of the capital markets it made sense for us to come to the table.”
The financing, Falcon said, will be on a commercial basis, with the same terms and conditions as the banks that will fund the remaining two-thirds.
Falcon would not say what the final cost of the project would be, other than to say it is “consistent” with past estimates.
The twinning, part of the $3-billion Gateway project, has been estimated between $1.5 billion and more than $2 billion. Details of the agreement will be released with its financial close in March.
