Security costs for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games will be almost three times the initial estimate, partly because of planning mistakes by the Vancouver 2010 organizing committee, reports the newspaper Le Devoir.
The total cost would be about $500 million, almost three times higher than the original estimate of $175 million. Le Devoir said an official announcement on the higher costs was expected within the next few weeks.
Security will be provided by a joint force of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) the Canadian armed forces, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service spy agency (CSIS), as well as the province of British Columbia’s police force.
Reuters reports Le Devoir cited international RCMP documents that complained of numerous errors and omissions in the organizing committee’s initial estimate.
The estimate reportedly didn’t include the cost of building two security command centres, and it calculated that 21 facilities and locations would have to be protected, but the revised figure is now 81.
Le Devoir said that excluding troops there would be 12,350 security personnel form various agencies working at the Games.
