No. H 138/07
For release July 13, 2007
MONTREAL — Today, the Governments of Canada and Quebec announced a major step towards Quebec's selection of a private partner for the completion of Highway 30.
On June 20, a request for proposals was launched for the design, construction, financing, operation, maintenance and repair of Highway 30 under a public private partnership.
Yesterday, the Quebec government received the bid agreements of the candidates invited to participate in the request for proposals. A bid agreement is a contract that is negotiated and signed by the Quebec Minister of Transport and each of the three qualified candidates. This document sets out the requirements for the drafting and submission of proposals, including security deposits. This agreement also sets out the framework for the consultative process, including a general information session, specific information sessions and discussion workshops with the qualified candidates and their respective members and participants.
The instructions for qualified candidates, including the bid agreement, are now available on the Web at: www.autoroute30.qc.ca.
The Request for Proposals
The request for proposals is the second step in the private partner selection process, will lead to the signing of a partnership agreement.
The selection process is a joint initiative by Transport Quebec and Partenariats public-privé Québec; however, Transport Quebec is the prime contractor for the entire project.
The three qualified candidates invited to continue in the process are: Infras-Québec A-30, Nouvelle Autoroute 30, and SNC-Lavalin. They are now asked to submit proposals that meet the technical and financial requirements for the completion of the western section of Highway 30.
The highlights of the draft partnership agreement are:
a draft 35-year agreement for the design, construction, financing, operation, maintenance and repair of the infrastructure;
risk and responsibility sharing, including where the private partner would assume the risks of cost overruns and schedule delays;
compensation for the private partner’s construction, capital, operation, maintenance and repair expenses, as well as money from tolls; and
additional sections that the private partner could finance, operate, maintain and repair.
In the next few weeks, Transport Quebec will release a document outlining its technical and administrative requirements and its performance criteria for completing and operating the infrastructure. Moreover, Transport Quebec will ensure that the private partner fulfills all its service delivery requirements for the duration of the agreement. In the event of non-compliance, compensation for the private partner’s capital, operation, maintenance and repair expenses may be reduced.
The private partner will be responsible for complying with the conditions set out in the environmental orders for the completion of Highway 30 and for implementing the mitigation and compensation measures provided for in these environmental orders and in the federal environmental assessment.
The three qualified candidates will have until March 26, 2008 to submit their detailed technical proposals and until May 7, 2008 to submit their financial proposals. The successful candidate should be announced on June 18, 2008.
The auditor for this process, Marc-André Patoine, will ensure that this step of the selection process will be conducted in a fair and transparent manner. At the end of the selection process, a report will be posted on the Transport Quebec Web site at www.autoroute30.qc.ca, as well as on the Partenariats public-privé Québec site at www.ppp.gouv.qc.ca.
Changes to Western Section Tolls
Tolls were initially planned for the entire western section, but now will be collected only on the bridge spanning the St. Lawrence River, between Salaberry-de-Valleyfield and Vaudreuil-Dorion.
This measure will help optimize traffic flow and ensure that Montérégie residents using local roads and drivers using the highway between Châteauguay and Salaberry-de-Valleyfield will not pay any tolls.
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Contacts:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary Office of the Minister of Transport,
Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700
Marjolaine Gagné
Highway 30 Project Bureau
Transport Quebec
514-873-0234, ext. 219
Danny Kingsberry
Communications
Transport Canada
613-993-0055
Vincent Casanova
Agence des partenariats public-privé du Québec
514-873-2356
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at www.tc.gc.ca/listserv/and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada.
Transport Quebec is on line at www.mto.qc.ca.
This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons with visual disabilities.
