Price tag for Muskrat Falls hydro megaproject rises by another billion, CEO says
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Costs for the Muskrat Falls hydro project in Labrador are up another $1 billion, a “boondoggle” the man in charge says is worse than the lopsided Upper Churchill debacle.
Nalcor Energy CEO Stan Marshall said Friday the new price tag is $12.7 billion with financing. That’s up from an estimate last year of $11.7 billion and is about $5 billion higher than when the former Progressive Conservative government approved Muskrat Falls five years ago.
Marshall took over as head of the Crown corporation last year after the governing Liberals criticized oversight. He said at the time the megaproject was a colossal mistake that he’d try to fix.
“I knew this was a boondoggle,” that should never have gone ahead, Marshall reiterated Friday.