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Page, whose five-year term expires in a few weeks, found the actual cost will run between $3.28 billion and $4.13 billion.

The Harper government is expected to rebut Page’s findings after bureaucrats maintained Wednesday they are confident the government can still afford the two joint support ships.

However, the bureaucrats also admitted there could be “trade-offs” to keep the new vessels within budget.

The officials said the new supply ships will still meet the navy’s “required capability,” but it was unclear exactly what those requirements are.

The support ship program has travelled a long, convoluted path.

It was first proposed in the defence white paper of 1994, but the Liberal government didn’t get around to ordering replacements until 2004.

The shipyard proposals were deemed too expensive by the Harper government in 2008 and the project went back to square one, with a drastic scaling back of the capabilities the navy wanted.

The program is now not expected to deliver replacement ships until 2018.

Page’s analysis shows that had the government stuck with the original plan, it would have delivered more capable ships to the navy at less cost than what is now projected.

In an attempt to get out ahead of Page’s report, Public Works and Defence officials held a background briefing Wednesday and insisted the program is on track and the ships will be built for $2.6 billion.

They conceded the design is not complete and must be reviewed for cost before the program goes ahead.