Metro Vancouver has chosen an independent team to carry out a full review of the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant project after years of delays and soaring costs.
The review will be led by Rob Andrews, senior vice-president of infrastructure at EXP Engineering, following approval from the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District Board. According to Metro Vancouver, the team will have unrestricted access to project records, including financial documents, governance files and the project’s full history.
The investigation comes after the project’s estimated cost climbed from $700 million in 2013 to nearly $3.4 billion, while the expected completion date has been pushed back to 2030. The increase has been linked to design changes and construction problems that emerged during the project.
This is not the first attempt to examine what went wrong. A previous review launched in 2024 was put on hold because of legal disputes between Metro Vancouver and the project’s former contractor, Acciona Wastewater Solutions. Earlier this year, both sides reached a settlement under which Acciona agreed to pay $235 million to Metro Vancouver.
Metro Vancouver says the new review will be carried out independently and without interference from the regional district.
In a statement, Andrews said his team has extensive experience assessing major infrastructure projects and is committed to delivering a fair and thorough review.
The final report is expected to be released by the end of January.
