Trans Mountain costs estimate reach $12.6 billion

The cost to Canadian taxpayers to build the Trans Mountain pipeline has ballooned to 12.6-billion dollars from its initial estimate of 7.4-billion dollars.

The president and C-E-O of the federally owned company provided an update on the pipeline upgrade which will triple the amount of Alberta bitumen moving from the Edmonton-area to port in Burnaby and on to overseas markets by freighter.

Ian Anderson says when spending committed so far is subtracted from the total budget, just over eight-billion dollars will be needed to complete the project plus nearly two-billion dollars in financial carrying costs.

But he says the expansion is now expected to be finished and operating by the end of 2022.