The B.C. government has again doubled down on getting the Site C dam built in the Peace Region, saying its cost has gone up to $16 billion.

The project’s timeline has also been pushed back by an extra year, to 2025. The province says enhancing the dam’s foundation and delays in the past year from the COVID-19 pandemic have accounted for about half of the cost increase announced today, which is close to $6 billion extra.

Premier John Horgan had announced in December of 2017 the project would be continuing on under the provincial NDP government. The following summer, movement was observed at part of the dam near Hudson’s Hope, and there have been calls to stop work to allow for a thorough review of the project’s safety.

Today, Horgan again says the project will continue. The province says piling will prevent slippage of the dam’s foundation. It also says the cost to abandon the project would be “severe” to taxpayers and ratepayers in B.C., totalling at least $10 billion to abandon.

In 2014, when the project was first approved by then-Premier Christy Clark, it had a price tag of $8.7 billion. In 2017, when Horgan announced work would continue, the cost had risen to $10.7 billion.

Officials could not give a breakdown of how much of the extra cost isfor stabilizing the dam and how much is caused by COVID-19 delays, saying commercial interests could be compromised. It says the extra costs won’t be realized by ratepayers until the dam is built, saying the cost increase is expected to be $36 per year for the average household.

The hydroelectricity generated from the project is expected to be able to power up to 450,000 additional homes in B.C. per year, and will have a lifespan of 70-100 years.

Right now, construction is employing about 4,500 people. About three-quarters of those workers are B.C. residents and many live in the Kamloops area.

As of today, the province has already spent $6 billion on construction for the dam. The Peace River has also been rerouted near Fort St. John for the dam’s reservoir.