Vancouver is considering directly financing the Olympic Village to ensure the project’s completion for the 2010 Games.
The motion, which will be voted on tomorrow, would have city staff look at issuing bonds and establishing a “revolving bank facility,” Vancouver’s director of finance Ken Bayne told council yesterday.
“If we are going to meet our Olympic deadlines, this may be the only way that we are going to be able to ensure that can happen,” Bayne said.
The plan would essentially be setting up a line of credit it could use to lend money to the developer.
Such a move would eliminate hedging risk and could reduce interest rates to less than five per cent, down from 9.5 per cent.
The move, however, is not without risk. It could threaten Vancouver’s credit rating and make it more expensive to borrow money.
The motion would also see Millennium’s $29-million deposit spent to cover February’s construction costs and keep crews working on the project.
