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“We anticipate the National Energy Board will give us direction on that,” said Anderson.

He noted the threat of further legal action against the project — which was purchased by the federal government for $4.5 billion last year — but said they’ll address that when it becomes clearer.

And demands by local communities at two spots along the 1,150-kilometre route — including one at the Coldwater First Nation that suffered from a pipeline leak — that it alter its path, will be dealt with through consultations, said Anderson.

“Our schedule, I don’t think, will be at risk from those determinations,” he said.

The first resumption of work should begin in stretches between Jasper and Edmonton, and at the Burnaby terminal, site of the most determined protests against the project last year, said Anderson.

Photo by Leah Hennel / Leah Hennel/Postmedia

He’s confident, he said, of the company’s own security measures and also noted a court injunction stands in “protecting us from any interference.”

The province of B.C. vowed to renew its legal challenges against the pipeline twinning, which would bring an additional 890,000 barrels per day of oil from Edmonton to Burnaby.

Some First Nations in Alberta and B.C. have also said they’d erect legal obstacles in the pipeline expansion’s path.

But Anderson said he’s heartened by shippers operating from the B.C. end who have refused to abandon the project despite the delay.

“Our shippers remain committed to this project, they’ve stood beside us through this entire process for many years,” he said.

The pipeline expansion’s $7.4 billion price tag has increased, said Anderson, though by how much isn’t yet clear.

“We all know time is money, delays are going to push up costs,” he said.

The work will ultimately employ 5,000 to 6,000 workers, said Anderson.

BKaufmann@postmedia.com

Twitter:@BillKaufmannjrn