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A number of international firms decided not to bid on the Canadian Surface Combatant project, responsible for procuring warships — at least one firm voiced concerns that the program could fail because of how it’s being managed.

The federal government, however, appears confident it has addressed any concerns about its shipbuilding program.

Procurement minister Carla Qualtrough told defence firm representatives in late May that the surface combatant project — which she described as the largest, most complex procurement ever undertaken by the Canadian government — has adopted innovative acquisition practices. This includes allowing firms to clarify information in their bids, instead of facing immediate rejection of proposals.

Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan

Specific costs won’t be known until those contracts are signed. But one of Brunton’s concerns has already materialized. His reports note that financial estimates for the shipbuilding programs had not been updated since they were set years ago and various costs were already climbing.

In June, the government increased cost estimates for the navy supply ships from $2.3 billion to $3.4 billion. Jean-Denis Fréchette, the Parliamentary Budget Officer, estimates an even higher price tag, $4.1 billion.

Fréchette believes the surface combatant project is likely to be $61.82 billion — not the $55 billion to $60 billion currently budgeted — and warns that every year the warship contract is delayed beyond 2018 will cost taxpayers an extra $3 billion because of inflation.

Pat Finn, assistant deputy minister for materiel at the Department of National Defence, said he expects a winning bid for the surface combatant ships to be selected by the end of this year.

Contract negotiations should be completed by early 2019.

dpugliese@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/davidpugliese