Skip to main content

Canada: Champlain Bridge deal awarded to SNC-Lavalin consortium

The Canadian government has awarded a multi-billion dollar contract for the Champlain Bridge in Montreal, in the province of Quebec, to a consortium led by SNC-Lavalin. The firm, based in Montreal, will design, build, maintain and operate the toll bridge under a 35-year public-private partnership deal worth between US$2.5-$4.1 billion. The consortium called Signature on the Saint-Lawrence Group includes Spanish firms Dragados Canada and ACS Infrastructures and the US firm Flatiron Construction. Other
April 17, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The Canadian government has awarded a multi-billion dollar contract for the Champlain Bridge in Montreal, in the province of Quebec, to a consortium led by SNC-Lavalin.

The firm, based in Montreal, will design, build, maintain and operate the toll bridge under a 35-year public-private partnership deal worth between US$2.5-$4.1 billion.

The consortium called Signature on the Saint-Lawrence Group includes Spanish firms 4761 Dragados Canada and 917 ACS Infrastructures and the US firm 2758 Flatiron Construction. Other members are MMM Group, T.Y. Lin International, International Bridge Technologies Canada and 981 Hochtief PPP Solutions.

The project will replace an ageing bridge, will link Montreal to the St Lawrence River's south shore and should generate 30,000 jobs. Work is expected to start this summer for completion in December 2018, according to a statement by federal infrastructure minister Denis Lebel who made the contract award in Montreal. SNC beat two other bidders for the work.

The bid requirements for the Champlain Bridge contract stipulated that no company, affiliate or member of a board of directors could have been convicted of a criminal offence in order for their consortium to qualify.

Because of this, the awarding of the deal by the Federal Bridge Authority to SNC Lavalin, is controversial. The Globe and Mail %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal newspaper reported Globe and Mail report false http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/snc-lavalin-shakes-up-senior-management-team/article23965219/ false false%> that SNC was charged in February with corruption and fraud over alleged criminal acts that occurred between 2001 and 2011 while it did business in Libya. But SNC has said the acts were committed by former employees who have since left the company and that the corporation itself should never have been charged.

The Globe also said that the SNC’s infrastructure business unit, which includes projects like hospitals, mass transit and water treatment plants, has posted losses on earnings before interest and taxes for the past two years. SNC announced this week it will replace the executive in charge of the business.

2482 SNC Lavalin will announce its first quarter result on May 7.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Oregon’s electric vehicles cruise the West Coast Electric Highway
    December 3, 2014
    Many US states offer cash-back deals and tax breaks to encourage people to buy more electric vehicles. But Oregon has shunned financial incentives and opted to drive up EV sales through increasing the number of recharging stations.
  • RFQ is out for the Gordie Howe Bridge to link US and Canada
    July 22, 2015
    The bidding process has started for the Gordie Howe International Bridge that will link Detroit in the US state of Michigan and Windsor, in the Canadian province of Ontario. The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) has sent out a request for qualifications (RFQ) for the bridge that will likely be either cable stayed or suspension to cross the Detroit River. The bridge also likely will come with a hefty price tag – around US$1.62 billion, as World Highways reported in May in a feature on the proposed b
  • Chinese inventor puts together vacuum cleaner-size petrol car
    December 15, 2014
    Traffic congestion and the cost of running a car have been pushing Chinese car manufacturers to think small, especially for electric vehicles. Electric scooter and motorcycle have long been popular and in the past several years more and more small electric cars are appearing on crowded urban roads One popular three-wheel electric vehicle has a large retractable bubble top, making it look like a futuristic car from a low-budget 1950s Hollywood movie. It may have a top speed of only 30kph, as the BBC report
  • US: Missouri state bridge repairs run out of gas
    September 11, 2015
    The US state of Missouri said it is fighting a losing battle to maintain its 641 bridges that are listed in critical condition - one-step away from being closed to traffic. Engineers in the southern state’s department of transportation said around US$820 million is needed to repair or replace the 641 bridges, three of which were closed to traffic last year. The critical list has expanded with the addition of 50 more bridges since last year. And the critical list is expected to grow to around 1,500 bri