'We're protecting taxpayers': B.C. premier on pivot for new George Massey Tunnel | Daily Hive

'We're protecting taxpayers': B.C. premier on pivot for new George Massey Tunnel project

Site preparation and preliminary construction work for the new George Massey Tunnel, next to the south end of the existing tunnel as seen on May 21, 2026. (Government of BC)

Appearing frustrated that the question was raised by the media during Tuesday evening’s celebratory FIFA World Cup press conference in Vancouver, B.C. Premier David Eby addressed the elephant in the room: the provincial government’s latest update on the long-awaited project to build the new George Massey Tunnel.

On Monday, the provincial government announced it had exercised the termination option in its preliminary agreement with the European-led contractor that was selected almost exactly two years ago to design and build a new eight-lane immersed tube tunnel to replace the aging, seismically vulnerable, four-lane, counterflow-controlled George Massey Tunnel.

In explaining its decision to restart the procurement process, the provincial government strongly suggested in its Monday news release that the move was due to cost escalation with the selected contractor, which had helped complete the project’s detailed technical design work.

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In July 2024, following a bidding process, Cross Fraser Partnership was first awarded the contract. The consortium is comprised of the Canadian division of France-based Bouygues Construction, in partnership with Spanish construction company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, Quebec-based Pomerleau, architectural and engineering firm Arcadis (formerly known as IBI Group), and Netherlands-based dredging and marine services firm Boskalis.

On Tuesday, Premier Eby reiterated the previous day’s announcement that the forthcoming new procurement process will seek multiple contractors, with the work split into several smaller contracts instead of a single contract encompassing the entire project. The new approach could also allow local companies to bid on more manageable portions of the work.

“The number one goal here is protecting taxpayer dollars by bundling this project up into smaller parcels. We’re able to have more local companies bid, which brings increased competition, which brings a better price for taxpayers… We are full speed ahead and we’re going to ensure the best price for taxpayers in British Columbia,” said Eby, emphasizing that this direction is intended to better control the project’s cost.

“This approach to the contract allows us to ensure that we’re protecting taxpayers, which is our number one priority here when we’re doing a project of this scale,” he reemphasized.

2024 revised concept of the new replacement George Massey Tunnel. (Government of BC)

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Concept of the new replacement George Massey Tunnel. (Government of BC)

Will the project cost $9 billion? $11 billion? Or even $12 billion?

The official cost estimate of $4.15 billion was established about five years ago, before the pandemic-induced surge in construction costs for labour, equipment, and materials. This remains the provincial government’s only official public figure, but it is now highly outdated due to market inflation alone — before accounting for any additional costs associated with the technical complexities of building an immersed tube tunnel by floating and sinking pre-cast concrete tunnel segments into a trench on the bed of the Fraser River.

On Tuesday, in response to the project update, the Conservative Party of B.C. sharply criticized the BC NDP-led government’s handling of the project and suggested the revised cost could be more than double, at about $9 billion. The party also repeated its longstanding criticism of the BC NDP’s decision to cancel the 10-lane bridge project, which was months away from beginning major construction in 2017 and was scheduled for completion in 2022. At the time, the lowest bid was $2.6 billion — $900 million below the allocated budget of $3.5 billion.

Today, Delta city councillor Dylan Kruger told Daily Hive Urbanized he had been told by sources in the Government of Canada on Tuesday that the provincial government’s latest estimate is $11 billion — more than two-and-a-half times the outdated official figure from 2020/2021.

On Monday evening, just hours after the provincial government’s announcement, Delta City Council unanimously approved Kruger’s emergency member motion requesting the provincial government to undertake an independent review of the project and clarify the project’s timelines.

Earlier this month, Daily Hive Urbanized also heard from sources that the cost could be as much as $12 billion.

Daily Hive Urbanized reached out to the B.C. Ministry of Transportation and Transit for comment on the last cost figures established by the now-terminated contractor.

In response, a statement today from B.C. Minister of Transportation and Transit Mike Farnworth read, “While I have said before that the cost has increased from the original budget, we have not contemplated or discussed an $11 billion budget.”

The provincial government is seeking a meaningful financial contribution from the federal government to help cover the cost. Farnworth said the federal government has committed to supporting the project.

“We’re having good and constructive conversations with the federal government, and they have committed their support for this project,” said Farnworth.

“We will provide updated information on the budget for the project once our discussions with the federal government have concluded.”

Daily Hive Urbanized has asked the federal government to comment on the funding request and the ongoing discussions.

In advance of the start of major construction activities in 2027, site preparation and preliminary construction work are well underway — activities that first began in January 2026. This work is now visible immediately adjacent to the existing tunnel’s south entrance on Deas Island, where the construction footprint will become a temporary manufacturing facility for the pre-cast concrete tunnel segments and the south portal of the new tunnel.

This preliminary work also includes building jetties, a trestle bridge, access roads, and other early infrastructure needed to support the eventual start of major construction under the new contractors. About 200 workers will be on site this year.

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Preliminary construction and site preparation work next to the south end of the existing George Massey Tunnel for the future new immersed tunnel project, as seen on June 1, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

The existing George Massey Tunnel. (Government of BC)

But beyond this preliminary work, any start on major construction activities entirely depends on the completion and approval of the provincial government’s environmental assessment review. The provincial government asserts this key review process will reach completion by late 2026, although it was supposed to finish by late 2024 or 2025.

Premier Eby also reiterated that the new approach of splitting the work into multiple contracts is similar to the strategies used for the Highway 1 widening project in the Fraser Valley and the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension.

For the project to extend SkyTrain’s Expo Line to Langley, the provincial government created three separate contracts. At the outset of the bidding process in 2022, the project was estimated to cost $4 billion in total, with the three contracts carrying a combined value of nearly $2.3 billion. This included $1.1 billion for the elevated guideway, $475 million for building eight new stations, various bus exchanges, and the tail track, and $700 million for trackwork systems. Another $1.7 billion was allocated to non-contractor costs, including land and property acquisitions, geotechnical testing, pre-design and planning work, and other government-incurred expenses.

In August 2024, just ahead of the start of major construction, the provincial government announced the SkyTrain project had experienced a 50 per cent cost escalation to $6 billion following the finalization of agreements with its selected contractors months earlier. For example, the contract for building the stations was valued at $928 million — nearly double the $475 million estimate made more than two years earlier.

Concept visual of the manufacturing facility on Deas Island for the new George Massey Tunnel segments. (Government of BC)

The new George Massey Tunnel project. (Government of BC)

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