TORONTO, Ont. – The provincial government has reached an agreement to move the 900-megawatt natural gas plant — which was originally planned for Oakville, Ont. — to Ontario Power Generation’s Lennox Generating Station site in eastern Ontario’s Lennox and Addington County.

It’s a deal that will cost taxpayers $40-million.

Energy Minister Chris Bentley unveiled the figure during Question Period.

“The new site will take advantage of existing transmission lines and other infrastructure, as well as the expertise of local workers. The construction of the plant is expected to provide up to 600 construction jobs and approximately 25 permanent jobs,” Bentley said in a statement.

The Liberals had admitted earlier that it would cost taxpayers $190-million for the decision to stop construction on the Mississauga facility just days before last October’s election. However, they refused to hand over all of the documents on the Oakville project until they could reach a deal with the developer.

Ontario’s opposition parties are anxiously awaiting the release of thousands of internal documents on the cancellation of both the Oakville and Mississauga power plants. The deadline is 6 p.m. Monday.

Conservative Leader Tim Hudak said his party will go ahead with plans to declare Bentley in contempt of legislature because that’s what taxpayers want.

“[If] the minister really wanted to bare his soul and reveal all of the documents, why didn’t he do so when he was given opportunity after opportunity? It’s only because of an order by the Speaker that we may even see those documents,” Hudak said.