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Information released from persistent Freedom of Information requests shows that the province of British Columbia will pay an additional $3.7 billion as a result of contracts signed between 2003 and 2016. These contracts set out to deliver 17 infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships (P3s) rather than traditional procurement.

With an $18.2-billion pricetag, the 17 projects all involved multi-decade contracts in which private companies managed a combination of the design, building, financing, operation and maintenance of the public infrastructure. Of the 17 projects, 10 were in healthcare and three were for roads. The others were for the environment, transit, education, and corrections. If the 17 projects were procured through the public delivery of projects rather than P3s, they would have cost $3.7 billion less over the decades of the contracts.

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$3.7 billion may seem like an enormous amount of money — approximately $1,800 for every B.C. household — however, since information on the 16 other projects has not yet been reported, the number actually underestimates the additional cost B.C. will pay as a result of P3 projects currently on the books.