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The delay has not been explained by DND. The move was originally to be announced during a 2010 news conference but that was abruptly cancelled on orders of the Privy Council Office.

In the meantime, DND officials have been scrambling to deal with what they call the “accommodation gap” as leases for the department’s various offices come due.

“400 Cumberland and 305 Rideau are scheduled to be released back to [Public Works] but could be retained to address a short term accommodation gap caused by the Carling Campus Project delay,” the DND document noted.

Neither DND nor Public Works and Government Services Canada could provide specific details of what the almost two-year delay in moving to Nortel will cost in extending leases for various offices. The move will eventually reduce the number of rented and leased defence locations in Ottawa-Gatineau from 47 to seven.

“Any costs related to leases for locations to be vacated as a result of the DND move to the Carling Campus are already factored into the overall costs and savings of the consolidation,” Public Works spokesman Sébastien Bois said in an email.

At one point, DND planners outlined a worst-case scenario in which they would have needed to spend $75 million extra if the project was further delayed, or even cancelled. That included ongoing lease payments for department offices at 400 Cumberland St. and 305 Rideau St. A refit of the facilities on Cumberland would have cost $2.5 million. Another $17 million might have had to be set aside for other refits of additional facilities.