For immediate release
St. Andrews, New Brunswick, April 24, 2009 – The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Honourable Greg Thompson, Minister of Veterans Affairs, on behalf of the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of Public Works and Government Services, today announced the award of a contract to Maricon Construction Management Ltd. of Saint John, New Brunswick, for construction of a new wet laboratory building at the St. Andrews Biological Station in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.
This $17,647,210 contract, will consolidate existing buildings into one state of the art wet lab facility. The new 2,895 square metre building will house the majority of marine life and research operations at the St. Andrews Biological Station, promoting continued excellence in marine research and development.
“Our Government is committed to modernizing the St. Andrews Biological Station and cementing it as a leader in marine research and development for years to come,” said Minister Shea. “This government is turning our short-term challenges into long-term strengths and this is yet another concrete example.”
In addition to the new wet lab building, modernization of the St. Andrews Biological Station will also see future construction of a new 4,500 square metre science building, which will accommodate offices, analytical laboratories, a computer centre, and a library of over 10,000 holdings.
“While this project will help make sure the St. Andrews Biological Station remains a world leader in marine research, we are also creating much-needed local construction jobs,” said Minister Thompson. “Our Government’s top priority is to have shovels in the ground and people working as quickly as possible. This project, which is expected to begin by the end of the month, will create the equivalent of 25 full-time jobs and maintain the equivalent of another 117.”
This contract was awarded by Public Works and Government Services Canada following an open, fair and transparent procurement process.
Construction of the new wet laboratory is expected to begin in April 2009, following completion of site development work that is currently underway. Work associated with this contract is expected to take approximately 65 weeks to complete, with all phases of modernization completed by June 2012.
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For further information please contact:
Scott Verret
Regional Manager, Communications
Public Works and Government Services Canada
902-496-5835
Richard Roik
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Veterans Affairs
613-996-4649
Janice Summerby
Media Relations Advisor
Veterans Affairs Canada
613-992-7468
Communications Branch
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Maritimes Region
902-426-3550
CommEnquire@mar.dfo-mpo.gc.ca
PWGSC news releases are also available on our Internet site at http://www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca/medias-media/index-eng.html
