Today’s news release from Nalcor Energy that the cost of the Muskrat Falls project has jumped by another three-quarters of a billion dollars raises more questions than it answers for NDP Leader Earle McCurdy.
“We now know that the contract with Astaldi has ballooned from just over a billion dollars to $1.83 billion,” McCurdy said today. “We don’t know if that number includes the potential costs of repairs to the powerhouse if there is the ice damage we’ve been told to expect. We don’t know what the ‘current completion schedule’ for the Muskrat Falls Project is – the news release refers to it without specifying it.
“We don’t know how much longer it will be before we see public reporting from the so-called oversight committee and the final report from EY. We don’t know if Nalcor really looked into whether it was in the province’s best interests to continue with Astaldi or replace them. As usual, as with anything to do with this project, secrecy and insufficient information prevail.”
McCurdy says that as the price tag for the Muskrat Falls project continues to climb, it’s incumbent on government to practice the openness and transparency promised during last year’s election campaign.
“The NDP has been calling for PUB oversight of this massive project since the previous administration was cheerleading for it,” McCurdy said.
“This huge drain on the province’s resources should be subject to independent robust oversight. Nalcor's piecemeal delivery of financial information is preventing the people of the province from seeing the full picture. It's an unmitigated disaster."
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To contact Earle McCurdy, phone 739-6387 or e-mail news@nl.ndp.ca.