The official cost of the Bluenose II rebuild is now known.
CBC reports the final bill is $24 million….$10 million more than the original estimate. Included in the cost is over $21 million in capital funding for the boat itself. Just over $2 million is to settle a lawsuit by the Lunenburg Ship Building Alliance against the govermnment and over a million for the mess with the rudder.
Shannon Delbridge, executive director of public works with the Transportation Department told CBC government has learned its lesson…that future governments might tread more carefully and slowly in planning such projects. The Rodney MacDonald government fast-tracked the Bluenose II rebuild to try to get money from Ottawa for it.