Quote:
Originally Posted by Sir.Humphrey.Appleby
P3s are just another way to 'borrow' money, just like borrowing they eat up money that could otherwise be used to build things later. Not that I am saying borrowing or P3s are bad, because they aren't. Just that P3s don't create 'free' money.
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I agree that P3s are just another way to borrow money and that eventually they will eat up more many than a public funding model. However, they have proven to be generally accepted by taxpayers in the Calgary area where-as if the government borrowed the money to fund the project themselves I think it would be viewed as an unpopular decision. As I mentioned before, I think we should look at the Centre Street subway as a planning tool to strategically encourage investment and development. Because development and growth tends to build upon itself, that means that the sooner the LRT line is built, the bigger the impact will be long term. So although the cost of a P3 project will be with the City over a 30 year term, the fact that it would allow immediate construction on the Centre Street subway means that the benefits would be compounded over those same 30 years. With any luck it may even become cost neutral to the City as the $3.1 Billion cost of construction translates into $3.1 Billion in savings because future infrastructure is no longer needed as densification occurs along the Centre Street and SE LRT corridor.