If everything proceeds as expected, the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant project is anticipated to come in below its earlier estimated budget of up to nearly $10 billion, while still requiring a considerable financial commitment.

Earlier this month, the board of directors for Metro Vancouver Regional District approved a new direction of downsizing the scope of the project, resulting in a $4 billion cost reduction to a revised estimated cost of about $6 billion.

It comes after increased criticism and scrutiny over the regional district’s growing operational and capital costs, including the beleaguered new North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant project.

This separate project is an upgrade of the sewage treatment plant found just northwest of Vancouver International Airport, situated at the mouth of the Fraser River on Iona Island.