Geneviève Guilbault asks Mayor Bruno Marchand to make public the new price of the megaproject “when the time comes.”
“Taxpayers have the right to possibly receive an update on the project, when the information also becomes available. There are bidding processes, all of that is regulated, so Mr. Marchand will do what he has to do when the time comes,” he asked on Tuesday.
The Quebec government has not yet set a price range that it considers acceptable for the tram project, although it has a cost estimate calculated by the Tram Project Office.
“We maintain continuous exchanges between my teams at the ministry and the tram project office in Quebec City,” Minister Guilbault responds simply.
Meanwhile, he states, the work is progressing according to the latest official public price, which places the cost of structuring the transportation network at 3.9 billion dollars. This was before the economic context put upward pressure on the bill, whose update is still pending.
The consortia still competing to win the infrastructure contract have until November 2 to submit financial proposals to Quebec City for the completion of the most imposing component of the megaproject.
From now on, no price can be communicated, Mayor Marchand often repeats. Only with this document, the presentation of which has been postponed more than once, will the Marchand administration have an idea of the final bill, he insists.
“It is not information that I do not want to transmit to you. These are the data we expect from the presentation of the consortia. We will come back with a price and Ms. Guibault will be the first to know,” she later assured before joining the municipal council on Tuesday afternoon.
