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OTTAWA — A new report from the Parliamentary Budget Office shows the federal government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars less each year on infrastructure than it has planned, with only half of the $8.8 billion from the “Building Canada Fund” projected to be spent over a seven-year period.

The government says many of the expenditure discrepancies are simply due to delays in signing agreements with the provinces and receiving funding requests from municipalities.

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In the first report under interim Parliamentary Budget Officer Sonia L’Heureux (who is the parliamentary librarian), the PBO estimates the government has allocated enough cash over the next decade to cover the costs of federal infrastructure requirements.

Approximately $45 billion is required to fund infrastructure at existing levels for the 10 years from 2014-15 to 2023-24, says the PBO. The 2013 budget announced total funding of $53 billion, including $47 billion in new and renewed funding, as well as an additional $6 billion through existing program cash.