The City of Quebec will present an important update regarding the future of its tramway, Wednesday morning at 9:30 a.m., on the eve of the submission of bids from the consortia still in the running to ensure the costly “infrastructure” component of the project.
Bidders have until November 2 to submit their files. As this deadline approaches, the tram goes through a significant zone of turbulence. Its final cost, expected to increase substantially compared to the last official estimate, put at $4 billion, was the subject of much conjecture on Tuesday.
The Quebec Journal put forward a bill of 12 to 13 billion dollars, a price that no other media has confirmed since. A source close to the matter rather mentioned to Duty a bill oscillating between 10 and 11 billion dollars.
Within the municipal administration and the government apparatus, lips seemed to be sealed: everyone was waiting for an update from Mayor Bruno Marchand before making a decision.
“We will wait for Mr. Marchand to leave tomorrow morning,” said the Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault. If there is new information I will be able to comment. »
“Mayor Marchand mentioned that tomorrow there was going to be a press briefing with certain information,” said the minister responsible for the Capitale-Nationale, Jonatan Julien. We will follow this with great attention. »
Adjust the project?
On Monday, Prime Minister François Legault raised the possibility of “perhaps adjusting the project so that it better meets the needs of the population.” This announcement came a few days after the presentation of a survey which showed the crumbling of opinions favorable to the tramway.
In the survey commissioned by the City of Quebec, 36% of respondents said they were in favor of the project before the distribution of the 10% of undecided people. A year ago, a similar exercise showed 42% support for the tramway.
The mayor of Quebec repeats that the City is working on a plan B if the price attached to the bids proves too high for the taste of public finances. This summer, the elected official mentioned that the City could take part of the construction of infrastructure under its wing. However, the implications of such a maneuver have since never been detailed in public.
For the solidarity camp, it is the government which must bear the brunt of a bill which promises to be much steeper than initially expected. “If the CAQ had not put water in the gas, we would not be here,” said party spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. It is the responsibility of the CAQ if costs have increased because costs have increased due to delays and it is the CAQ which is responsible for these delays. »
With François Carabin and Marie-Michèle Sioui