The cost of extending water and sewer services to the future site of CentrePort South has risen by nearly $13 million in three years.
A City of Winnipeg estimate in 2020 guessed the project would cost $61 million, with the Manitoba government announcing last year it would cover up to $40 million.
Reasons for the increase include inflation in the construction industry, and the need to reroute a main feeder line due to an Indigenous burial mound, according to a report to the finance committee on Friday.
“The Public Service is evaluating the impact of current market conditions and will refer an additional $12.7 million to the 2024-2027 multi-year budget,” Cynthia Wiebe, manager of engineering services with the water and waste department, wrote in the report .
“Scope and cost will continue to be carefully monitored during the detailed design phase.”
In September, the city’s historical resources branch identified a burial mound along the main feeder line, which the city will now have to realign.
A spokesperson for the Manitoba government told CBC News the burial mound is not a new discovery.
“The St. James Burial Mound is well-known and was first recorded by the province in the 1930s,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
“Burial mounds are remaining testaments to the burial practices of Indigenous people. Known burial mounds and the areas that surround them need to be considered as part of overall development processes.”
The committee voted to receive the report as information, with River Heights Coun. John Orlikow voting against it.
Could province help pay?
During the meeting, Orlikow asked whether the province would increase its funding commitment in light of the new cost estimate.
“Right now, the city’s on the hook for this extra money and we get the least amount of revenue from this project, and we have no guarantee of support from the province that they will contribute for the extra $13 million?”
City chief financial officer Catherine Kloepfer told the committee any increased funding from the province would require the city to negotiate a new agreement.
CBC News has requested comment from the province regarding whether it would cover any of the increased costs.
CentrePort is an 8,000-hectare (20,000 acre) transportation hub that provides access to rail, truck and air cargo operations connecting businesses and supply chains to markets worldwide.
Most of CentrePort is in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, which lies within Winnipeg’s Perimeter Highway. CentrePort South will be closer to the city’s James Armstrong Richardson International Airport.
CentrePort South includes about 3,000 acres to be developed in the city of Winnipeg, including 500 acres earmarked as residential.
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