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QUEBEC — After years of talk but little digging, Quebec confirmed it is ready to roll with the long-promised extension of Montreal’s Blue Line, for the first time putting a price tag on the project in its annual budget.

The government estimates that extending the métro line for 5.8 kilometres and five stops into the east-end boroughs of St-Léonard and Anjou will cost $3.9 billion. Of that amount, Quebec is hoping to pay 40 per cent, with another 50 per cent coming from the federal government and 10 per cent from the city, Transport Minister André Fortin said Tuesday. He noted, however, that the sharing of costs is still in the negotiation phase. Treasury Board president Pierre Arcand said Tuesday the government is moving toward expropriating properties, which indicates the project is well advanced.

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The métro extension was among the three priorities listed by Finance Minister Carlos Leitão in his 2018-2019 budget, along with the $6.3-billion Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light-rail train line for Montreal slated to start construction next month and a $3.3-billion tramway system announced for Quebec City earlier in March. In total, funding of $13 billion is going toward the projects. The electric-powered transit lines fall into the government’s theme of improving Quebecers quality of life through improved transit, as well as its commitment to clean-powered transport.