The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) announced its partnership agreement with Contrecoeur Terminal Constructors General Partnership (CTCGP), which consists of Pomerleau and Aecon.
This collaboration will support the MPA in designing the in-water works for its Contrecœur expansion project using a progressive design-build (progressive DB) approach.
In October of last year, MPA announced its intention to adopt a hybrid strategy for the design and implementation of its expansion project. Under this approach, land-based activities will be managed by a private partner, while the MPA, with assistance from partners, will oversee in-water operations such as dock construction and dredging. Recently, the port authority finalized an agreement with CTCGP to collaborate on the design phase of the project.
Adopting the collaborative design-build approach, CTCGP as the contractor and MPA as the master builder will collaborate closely during the project’s development phase. Their joint efforts aim to finalize the design, establish an estimated schedule, and determine project costs.
“We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Pomerleau and Aecon through CTCGP for planning the in-water works for our Contrecœur expansion project. The close working relationship between these two renowned companies, combined with our innovative progressive design-build approach, strengthens our commitment to the efficiency, coordination and success of this future-oriented project,” mentioned Julie Gascon, president and CEO of the MPA.
According to the statement, this method, increasingly favoured for major infrastructure projects, offers efficiency and enhanced coordination, ensuring greater predictability and risk management, especially concerning costs and deadlines.
Considering the projected expansion in the container sector, the Port of Montreal is embarking on a significant phase of its expansion initiative by constructing a new container terminal in Contrecœur. Situated with convenient access to major rail and road networks, this forthcoming terminal will eventually augment Montreal’s annual container handling capacity by 60%, catering to the demands of importers, exporters, and consumers across Quebec and Eastern Canada.
Furthermore, this project holds strategic importance for the future resilience of Canada’s supply chains and received approval from Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change in 2021. The initiative is financially supported by both the Government of Canada (US$110 million) and the Government of Quebec (US$95 million).
Over the 12 months, project design and the assessment of costs and schedules will be conducted in collaboration between MPA and CTCGP. Upon the conclusion of this phase, MPA intends to proceed with the procurement process to award contracts for dock construction and dredging, while also presenting an updated implementation schedule.
Simultaneously, MPA said that planning for the land-based aspects of the project is underway. By summer 2024, Montreal Port Authority will initiate an international request for proposals to engage a private partner for the construction of the terminal’s land-side components, including the container yard, buildings, public utilities, and rail connections.
This selected partner will also be responsible for operating and maintaining the terminal under a DBFOM (design, build, finance, operate, and maintain) framework. A timeline for land-based activities will be established once the outcome of the request for proposals is determined, within the next year or so.
Additionally, MPA is actively developing compensation plans, follow-up programmes, and mitigation measures to fulfill the conditions outlined in the favourable decision statement received for the project. These plans and programmes, crafted with expert input, will be submitted to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) upon finalization, and subsequently shared with the public following established procedures.
