City councillors briefed on escalating cost concerns around Calgarys Green Line LRT project – Calgary [Video]

Concerns around rising costs are escalating for project officials behind Calgary’s Green Line LRT, but exact numbers won’t be determined for another few months.

According to a quarterly report presented to city councillors Tuesday, higher-than-anticipated estimates from subcontractors have elevated concern from “amber” to “red” in the project’s risk status.

“The budget for this project was pre-COVID, and the market is very different,” Green Line CEO Darshpreet Bhatti told reporters. “We’re not the only project that is facing these challenges, they’re on every mega-project, even small projects are facing it.”

Bhatti said there are several options under consideration to mitigate escalating costs, including a review of the project’s contracting strategy and revising the scope of the project.

However, how much the project could be over-budget is not yet publicly known because design work is complete on just 30 per cent of the project.

Bhatti said costs will become clearer when …