01 October 2012

Muskrat Timelines slide back #nlpoli

Here’s what VOCM reported after Nalcor chief executive Ed Martin delivered a speech to St. John’s Rotary earlier this year:

Ed Martin won’t get into precise dates but says a decision on Muskrat Falls is fast approaching. The Nalcor CEO was the guest speaker at a Rotary luncheon in St. John’s. Martin says a sanction decision one way or the other needs to be made by October at the latest. Anything past that he says will cost the Crown corporation millions per month. Martin says they’re looking at having the decision ready by June/July so they can be presented to MHA’s and debated in the House.

Last weekend, Martin told the Telegram he would hope to get things done by the end of the year:

"We need to finalize a decision well before the end of this year. We're into this October, November time frame. I think we need an answer there, or else things will be pushed," he said.

The reason – according to the Telegram – is that if the provincial government delays approval too long, “Nalcor would be forced to revisit numbers and timelines.”

That would be another way of saying completely revising the cost estimates and the construction dates.

-srbp-