(AlbertaIndex, April 28, Monday) --- The Alberta government said it will invest $22.2 billion on municipalities, housing, hospitals, schools, roads and services over the next three years to help address the needs of a growing economy and population.

    The ‘2008-11 Capital Plan’, released as part of the Budget2008, supports the government’s priorities and delivers on the short-term commitments made in the 20-year Strategic Capital Plan released earlier this year where the requirement for new infrastructure is complemented by additional resources to maintain existing facilities.

The $22.2 billion allocation represents a 21% rise over the amount in last year’s three-year plan. Approximately $8.7 billion will be committed to supporting infrastructure in the first year.

To help address the rising cost of providing and maintaining the province’s infrastructure, $803 million has been set aside to deal with cost escalation on approved projects.

The government said it will also consider alternative financing arrangements to help meet the province’s capital requirements in circumstances where it will provide greater value than traditional methods.

Treasury Board president Lloyd Snelgrove said: “We’re continuing with major investments in infrastructure including maintenance and renewal at a crucial time in Alberta’s development.

“By taking care of what we have and building where we need to build, I’m confident the infrastructure backbone we are creating will provide strength to our province well into the future.”

Health facilities and equipment
At $3.3 billion, the three-year funding for health represents an increase of $249 million over last year’s, and will provide more acute care beds for hospitals and enhance capacity in ambulatory, diagnostic, emergency and surgical care.

All major centres and communities will benefit from the expansion, redevelopment and construction of new facilities and the upgrade in health information systems and vaccine inventories.

Education
More than $1.6 billion has been allocated for the completion of 59 schools including 18 new K-9 schools in Edmonton and Calgary, and modernization projects. Support has also been provided for 14 new middle and senior high schools in Calgary, Edmonton, Okotoks, Langdon, Spruce Grove and Sherwood Park.

Over the past year, more than $91 million was added to the budget to address cost escalation on maintenance projects as well as $190 million to modernize 20 schools and purchase modulars and classroom equipment. In 2008-09, there will be more than 7,000 new spaces created.

A total of $1.5 billion funds will be used for post-secondary facilities in 2008 to 2011 to increase access to post-secondary education and stimulate economic growth through enhanced research and innovation.

Despite the decrease in the overall funding from 2007 to 2010 due to the major construction project shut-downs, $372 million funding was added to address cost increases on the Edmonton clinic and for the infrastructure maintenance projects.

A total of $357 million will be spent on capital maintenance and renewal work over the next three years and will include significant investments in post-secondary facilities across the province.

Highways
Funding for highways will be raised by $548 million to $5.2 billion over the next three years to provide for a safe and efficient provincial highway network. Strategic economic corridors such as ring road links in Edmonton and Calgary, twinning and other improvements to Highway 63 to Fort McMurray are priorities.

Expansion and preservation work on other highways that are part of t he Northeast Alberta Transportation Corridor and the North-South Trade Corridor are ongoing while the budget for the rehabilitation work on highways throughout the province is almost double compared to last year.

Municipal infrastructure
Municipalities will receive an extra $735 million to deal with growth pressures at the municipal level. As a result of the new Municipal Sustainability Initiative, close to $5 billion will be provided under various grant programs and initiatives for roads, bridges, public transit, water and wastewater facilities, emergency services and infrastructure management systems.

Housing and community facilities
Plans to increase supply of affordable and barrier-free housing to address demand, transitional housing to help reduce homelessness and senior housing to allow more seniors to remain in their homes are currently the top priority.

The plan includes a $1.1 billion to help develop more than 11,000 affordable housing units over the next five years and the construction of 1,650 new and renovation of 300 existing senior living units.

A total of $705 million is being allocated to help maintain and enhance facilities such as museums, historic sites, provincial parks, indoor and outdoor recreation centres and buildings used by non-profit groups and foundations.

This includes $140 million for the construction, maintenance and upgrading of public facilities and grant funding for the Community Facility Enhancement Program.

Water and wastewater management
An investment of $721 million has been made towards water infrastructure to ensure constant access to safe and secure water. This includes support for the government’s Water for Life strategy through development of regional water and wastewater treatment projects, grants to municipalities under the Alberta Municipal Water/ Wastewater Program, irrigation rehabilitation grants to sustain the agriculture industry and investments in government dams, canals and erosion-control infrastructure.

Government facilities and other programs
A total of $1.9 billion will be used to support government facilities, equipment and other capital costs which include two significant new programs – Climate Change Emissions Management Fund and the Canada Eco-Trust for Clean Air and Climate Change – aimed at combating climate change and providing clean air. These programs will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in support of government’s goal to develop energy resources in a sustainable way.

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