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$1 billion on infrastructure for Newfoundland and Labrador

March 29, 2010 – Newfoundland
and Labrador will spend a whopping $1 billion
in the coming year building and repairing its infrastructure, says a CBC news
report issued today.

“Finance Minister
Tom Marshall, who unveiled details of the 2010 budget on Monday at Confederation Building,
said the program includes work on six new ferries, five of which will work on
the south coast of Newfoundland.
The sixth will be based in southern Labrador.

Schools,
hospitals, roads and almost every part of the provincial government will
receive at least some money from the infrastructure fund, which the governing
Progressive Conservatives say is critical for getting through the global
recession.

"We need this," Marshall said Monday, describing how much of
the province's infrastructure has long needed repair and replacement.

Details released by the government include numerous
projects, many of which will take several years. They include replacing the lift
bridge in Placentia, extending Team Gushue Highway
through the north and west ends of St.
John's and improving the Trans-Labrador Highway.

The plan involves $105 million just for repairs and
maintenance.

Marshall said the program will provide jobs, but more importantly help the
province's economy rebound.

"Infrastructure initiatives inspire investors to
spend, encourage entrepreneurs to diversify, and empower employers to
hire," he said.

In his speech to the legislature, though, Marshall warned that the
government will not have a cavalier attitude towards its spending.

"We expect
contractors to sharpen their pencils and provide bids that are reasonable and
competitive, and as they do, the tenders will be let, the funding will roll
out, the work will proceed," Marshall
said.”