Budget 2013’s New Building Canada Plan looks a lot like the old Building Canada Plan, but a continuation of the status quo will mean another $47 billion in infrastructure spending over the next decade.

Launched in 2007, the original Building Canada Plan — which expires in 2014 — invested $33 billion in roads, highways, public transit, and myriad other projects.

That was divided in large part between the Municipal GST Rebate, the Gas Tax Fund, and the Building Canada Fund — not to be confused with the overarching Building Canada Plan.

In Budget 2013, the government rebranded the Municipal GST Rebate and Gas Tax Fund as the Community Improvement Fund — to “reflect its true purpose,” according to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty in his speech to the House of Commons.

That fund accounts for $32.2 billion of the promised $47 billion, but describing it as “new” — as both Flaherty and the budget do — is slightly misleading.

Of the $32.2 billion, for example, the Gas Tax Fund represents close to two thirds — at $21.8 billion over 10 years — roughly $2 billion a year.

But the government already promised that money.

“In 2011, legislation was passed to make the Gas Tax Fund permanent at $2 billion per year,” the Infrastructure Canada website explains.

One key difference, however, is that these payments will now be indexed at two per cent per year starting in 2014-2015.

There are a few other things to keep in mind about the Gas Tax Fund moving forward:

The fact that the government will have to conclude new Gas Tax Fund agreements with all the provinces — they expire on March 31, 2014 and

They’ve expanded the list of eligible investment categories to include highways, local and regional airports, short-line rail, short-sea shipping, disaster mitigation, broadband and connectivity, brownfield redevelopment, culture, tourism, sport, and recreation.

The remaining $10.4 billion — the GST Rebate for Municipalities — is, again, just continuing what existed under the initial Building Canada Plan.

That applies to the $14 billion allotted for the Building Canada Fund as well — a slight increase from the $8.8 billion the fund was allocated for the years 2007 to 2014.

Regardless of what they’re called, the funding commitments will come as a relief to burdened municipalities.

Last fall the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and several other associations released their inaugural Canadian infrastructure report card, putting the total value of municipal water, wastewater, storm water, and road systems across the country at $538 billion.

Of that, $50.7 billion was identified as being in poor or very poor condition — with municipal roads singled out as the most in need of attention.