The recommendation of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in favor of a tramway for Quebec City made many players roll their eyes on Tuesday, including the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, who deplored that six years were “wasted”.
“We would have the project to be under construction right now, almost in operation, if we had not wasted six years,” the minister said with a smirk on Tuesday.
“Now, the Caisse confirms that the best project for Quebec City is the tramway. We are very happy, very happy. We have supported Quebec City from the very beginning,” he added.
Ottawa committed to funding the project to the tune of $1.2 billion at the time.
Route already known
Radio-Canada revealed Tuesday that the CDPQ was going to recommend that Quebec City equip itself with a tramway on a route similar to that presented in 2018 by the administration of Régis Labeaume.
The project for a third link was not retained.
The information was confirmed to The Canadian Press by sources who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
The CDPQ will propose a first phase between the Le Gendre and Charlesbourg sectors. Its cost is estimated at $5 billion.
A second phase would go to D’Estimauville and a third to Lebourgneuf.
The Caisse therefore believes it is capable of proposing a less expensive project than that of Mayor Bruno Marchand. Several amounts had been circulated concerning his tramway.
Just before having the project taken out of his hands by the government, Mayor Marchand stated that he could have completed the project for $8.4 billion.
To reduce costs, the CDPQ will notably offer smaller stations and wagons. The concrete slab would also be lower.
The CAQ clings to the third link
The Caisse studied six corridors for a possible third highway link between Quebec and Lévis, but none of them was justified in terms of mobility.
However, Quebec Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, suggested Tuesday that the project could remain in the plans despite everything. “It is irresponsible to have only one link allowing the transport of goods in Eastern Quebec,” she wrote on the X platform.
The Fund must present its report officially on Wednesday to journalists.
With Boris Proulx and The Canadian Press