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B.C. will pay $8 billion in interest over the next 50 years on the George Massey Tunnel replacement bridge, according to an internal government document.

The project backgrounder, which was obtained and released by the B.C. NDP, shows total interest costs for 2017 to 2068 — the entire construction and tolling period to debt retirement — are forecast at $8 billion, before federal assistance.

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The figure, which has not previously been revealed, includes $4.9 billion in long-term bonds, $2.2 billion in short-term borrowings and $900 million for a “private partner.”

Project costs are estimated at $3.5 billion, including construction, allowances for inflation and interest during construction.

“The only people that want to build a bridge there are B.C. Liberals and when we, the Opposition, have asked for information about that cost, we get back blank pages,” said NDP Leader John Horgan. “We were given a leaked document that shows that the actual cost is not the $3 billion it started out as or the $3.5 billion they’re now admitting to, but it could be as high as $12 billion when you build in the interest costs over time.”