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ECONOMY: Record C$18.2 billion capital plan to focus on Alberta’s growing infrastructure needs
         (AlbertaIndex, April 20, Friday) --- The Alberta government has announced it will boost infrastructure investments in the province by 37% to C$18.2 billion over the next three years. The investments in municipalities, schools, health facilities, roads and post-secondary projects reflects the increased need for infrastructure as Alberta continues to grow rapidly.         Capital spending in the first year will be approximately $6.7 billion-almost four times the per-capita average of what other provinces spend on infrastructure. Spending in the second and third years will be $6.5 billion and $5 billion, respectively.
        “It’s no secret that Alberta is growing dramatically and that new and better infrastructure is needed to accommodate that growth,” said Treasury Board President Lloyd Snelgrove. “This investment supports government’s overall growth management plan and addresses Alberta's increasing infrastructure and maintenance needs.”
       
Spending on municipal infrastructure will rise to about $1.4 billion a year for the next three years, up from $1.1 billion last year. This includes the Alberta Municipal Infrastructure Program and the phasing in of the Municipal Sustainability Initiative, a new program that will be worth $1.4 billion per year by 2011, following up on a key commitment to municipalities from Premier Ed Stelmach.
         This funding will help municipalities with new construction, rehabilitation and upgrading of roads and bridges, affordable housing, recreational and cultural facilities, public transportation, water/wastewater treatment systems and other infrastructure. This three-year $4.3 billion commitment to assist municipalities with their capital infrastructure requirements is unprecedented in Alberta.
          The province will spend $1.3 billion on school infrastructure over the next three years, including $508 million this year. This funding supports 71 previously announced school projects, including 47 new or replacement schools, 24 modernizations and additions, and almost 200 steel-framed modular classrooms.
           In the 2007-10 Capital Plan, the government will spend around $3 billion on health facilities and equipment. The funding will build, expand and maintain 30 facilities across the province and will ultimately increase patient access to health facilities, providing for more than 1,500 additional acute care beds over the next several years.
           A total of $1.6 billion will be spent on post-secondary facilities over the next three years. This funding will be used to build, expand and preserve more than 20 facilities. Major projects include the University of Alberta Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science, the University of Calgary Digital Library, and completion of the Health Research Innovation Facility at the University of Alberta and the Health Research Innovation Centre at the University of Calgary.
           An additional $100 million a year for three years has been earmarked for other projects to create additional spaces at post-secondary facilities. The locations and scope of these projects are yet to be determined.
           Altogether, government will invest nearly $1.4 billion this year and more than $4.6 billion over three years to build, rehabilitate and enhance provincial highways and bridges. Work will include continued twinning of sections of Highway 63 south of Fort McMurray and Highway 43 north to Grande Prairie, continued work on ring roads in Edmonton and Calgary, improvement of roads in key resource development areas, and paving about 2,500 kilometres of highway.
           Government will invest $679 million in water management over the next three years. This includes $170 million for regional water projects; $148 million in other grants to municipalities under the province's Water for Life program; $100 million to municipalities through the new Municipal Sustainability Initiative; $103 million to complete water treatment plant and wastewater facilities in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo; $53 million for irrigation rehabilitation; and $105 million for government dams, canals, erosion-control infrastructure and other support.
            A total of $1.6 billion will be invested over the next three years to build, expand, and maintain housing, government facilities and equipment to better serve Albertans. This includes funding for the construction of the new Edmonton Remand Centre, a province-wide police strategic information technology system, completion of the Calgary Courts Centre, construction of new air tanker bases across the province, and the replacement of the Research Greenhouse in Brooks. It also provides $447 million over three years to support the development of affordable housing, including $345 million through the Municipal Sustainability Initiative.
            The costs of construction are increasing significantly across Canada, no more so than in Alberta. Government has made provisions in the 2007-10 Capital Plan to address costs of approved projects that are higher than first estimated due to inflation in the construction industry. Government will explore all options toward achieving cost certainty in its capital projects and planning activities.

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