Thank you for your explanation.

I live in Chicago, originally from Poland.

My first job after college was at the Refinery of Gdańsk. They hired me but had nothing for me to do because the construction was years behind schedule.

When running a small business in Chicago, I had several jobs for government agencies. I know how it works.

Returning to your answer, should I understand that the author was not correct in stating that the British economy lost $17.8 billion on the Eurotunnel?

If I understand it correctly, that was the loss of the investors, but that money was not lost for the economy. People get paid for material and labor to make a tunnel, after all, the useful thing.