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VICTORIA – The province has listened to the public and will not proceed with a proposal to lease the Coquihalla Highway to a private partner, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today.
“We have listened to local residents and our caucus members,” Campbell said. “When I was in Clearwater, I said we would give this a second look and see if we could shape this to meet the public’s concerns. We engaged the public, our MLAs heard their response, and we are following their advice to maintain the status quo. The current tolls will remain and will not be increased, and the Coquihalla won’t be leased to a private operator.”
Campbell said British Columbians have made it clear that they do not see the benefits of this particular partnership. While there was a strong business case for the proposal, evident in the 28 expressions of interest received from the private sector, the public did not see or accept the new improvements that the proposed partnership would provide in this case.
“We had a good business plan that made a poor public case,” Campbell said. “It’s time to put that plan behind us and move on – and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The public request to maintain the status quo on the Coquihalla means that taxpayers will not receive the resources for new infrastructure that the partnership would have provided. The province will still proceed with the $300 million worth of infrastructure improvements already planned for the Southern Interior.
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