Promising more details in just a few weeks, Premier Gordon Campbell said yesterday that the Evergreen Line will likely be built as part of a public-private partnership.
In the next several weeks, said Campbell following a speech in Vancouver, the government will release details of a major transit review. Part of that review will outline a strategy for the long-promised 11-kilometre rapid transit line from Burnaby to Coquitlam, through Port Moody.
“The province has said that we’re going to move ahead with this,” Campbell said.
“This will likely be a form of public-private partnership that will bring additional resources to the table.”
In a budget speech last week, Finance Minister Colin Hansen said construction on the estimated $1.4-billion line would begin in 2011, not late 2010 as previously planned. The line will use SkyTrain technology.
The province has committed $410 million to the project, while the federal government has provided almost $70 million and has pledged an additional $350 million after the final details are approved.
TransLink has acknowledged that its share of the project is $400 million (in addition to the ongoing operational funding) but hasn’t yet said where those funds will come from.
