HAPPY VALLEY-GOOSE BAY, N. L. — Over 2, 000 items used in the building of the Muskrat Falls project near Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, are being auctioned off this weekend.
The online auction , being put off by Ritchie Bros., began on Sept. 21 and runs until Sept. 27, and includes items from three job sites, but according to the auction house, approximately two-thirds from the equipment is from Muskrat Falls.
On the block are products ranging from solar panels plus storage containers to cranes and dump trucks, some in like new condition.
“Most of the equipment used in the Muskrat Falls Generating Project was purchased specifically for that work and has never been used anywhere else, resulting in a big list of low-hour and low-mileage units, ” said Ryan Pottruff, regional sales manager of Ritchie Bros, in a release.
SaltWire contacted Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro about the sale and has been told the auction will be “to maximize the value of assets used within various structure activities related to the Lower Churchill Project, ” and is a standard practice as projects are usually completed.
According to a representative from Hydro, profits from the sale associated with the items will be used to offset task costs.
Construction of the particular Muskrat Falls Generating Station was completed in 2021 and an update on the cost of the low Churchill project released in June brought the number up to $13. 37 billion. The Lower Churchill project also consists of the Labrador retriever Transmission Assets, the Labrador–Island Link, and the Maritime Link that connects to Nova Scotia.
Initial estimates for the cost associated with the task when it was sanctioned in 2012 were $7. 4 billion.