B.C. Hydro has selected a preferred contractor for the Site C generating station and spillways, work that is expected to cost well over $1 billion.
The contract with Aecon-Flatiron-Dragados-EBC Partnership still has to be finalized, with the award of the contract expected to be complete by the end of February. Work would not begin until the spring.
In an announcement, B.C. Hydro said should a final contract be reached with Aecon-Flatiron-Dragados-EBC (AFDE) Partnership, Hydro’s board of directors would need to sign off on it.
The work on the powerhouse, penstocks, spillways and power intakes for the dam is the second largest contract for the project. At peak construction, anticipated to be in 2021, there would be about 1,600 people working on the generating station and spillways.
No details on the cost of the contract were available from Hydro, but the Crown utility said the proposal from AFDE Partnership falls within a revised estimated cost for the entire project of $10.7 billion. “The value of the contract will be announced at contract award,” B.C. Hydro spokesman Dave Conway said Tuesday.
Located in northeast B.C., the cost of the hydroelectric dam was revised upward from $8.3 billion when John Horgan’s NDP government announced before Christmas that the controversial project would go ahead.
The decision followed a review of the project by the B.C. Utilities Commission, an election promise of Horgan, whose minority government took power this summer after defeating the Liberals who had held power for 16 years.
While no details on the cost of this latest contract are available, before the new revised upward total cost had been announced, Hydro had budgeted $1.255 billion for the generating station and spillways.
The utilities commission panel that reviewed the Site C project for the Horgan government had challenged Hydro about possible overruns on work to come, including for the generating station and spillways.
Hydro noted that the AFDE Partnership has signed an agreement with the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 115, the Construction and Specialized Workers Union Local 1611 and the Construction Maintenance and Allied Workers. As part of this agreement, the AFDE Partnership committed to prioritize hiring locally and within B.C., as well as providing opportunities for apprentices. There are also targets for Indigenous apprentices and employment.
Canadian-based Aecon Group Inc. holds 30 per cent of the partnership, U.S.-based Flatiron Construction holds 27.5 per cent and Canadian-based EBC Inc. holds 15 per cent. Dragados Canada Inc., part of the Spanish-based ACS Group, also holds 27.5 per cent.
Aecon president and CEO John Beck said its selection as the preferred contractor further solidified the company’s presence in Western Canada, where it has worked on several large-scale hydroelectric projects, including B.C. Hydro’s John Hart generating station.
“The experienced and successful team from John Hart are primed to execute the Site C generating station and spillways civil works,” said Beck. “We look forward to working with our valued partners to deliver this critical project.”
The controversial project was heavily promoted by the former B.C. Liberal government, and supported by the business community and some unions and First Nations.
However, environmentalists, Peace River landowners and some First Nations, as well as the Green party, which holds the balance of power in the minority NDP government, have been adamantly opposed to the project.
There were two other bidders under consideration for the powerhouse and spillway work: Bechtel Canada Co. and Peter Kiewit Infrastructure Co.
