The Windsor-Essex Parkway Project-Builders Shortlisted

Project Attracts International Industry Interest

TORONTO , Oct. 8 /CNW/ - Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation today announced the companies short-listed to submit proposals to design, build, finance and maintain The Windsor-Essex Parkway.

Over the past few months, companies from all over the world participated in a rigorous competitive request for qualifications (RFQ) process that reviewed their design, construction, maintenance and financing abilities to deliver a large and complex project, such as the Parkway.

Following evaluations, five companies met the qualifications criteria and the three highest scoring ones were short-listed for the project. The short-listed companies are:

    
    -   Rose City Parkway Group including:
        -  Aecon Concessions is a division of Aecon Construction Group Inc.
        -  Fengate Capital
        -  Dufferin, a division of Holcim (Canada) Inc.
        -  The Miller Group
        -  MMM Group Limited
        -  Macquarie Capital Group Limited
        -  HOCHTIEF PPP Solution North America Inc.
        -  Peter Kiewit Sons Co.
        -  AECOM Canada Ltd.
        -  H.W. Lochner
        -  Thurber Engineering Ltd.
        -  Applied Research Associates, Inc.
        -  RC Spencer Associates Inc.
        -  West 8

    -   Windsor-Essex Transportation Partners including:
        -  Carillion Canada Inc.
        -  The Bank of Nova Scotia
        -  Stantec Consulting Ltd.
        -  PCL
        -  Bilfinger Berger Project Investments
        -  HSBC Specialist Investments Ltd (HSBC Infrastructure)
        -  John Laing Investments Limited (John Laing)
        -  Walsh Construction Company, a subsidiary of The Walsh Group, Ltd.
        -  Parsons Corporation
        -  Trow Associates Inc.

    -   Windsor Essex Mobility Group including:
        -  Dilion Consulting Limited
        -  RBC Dominion Securities Inc.
        -  Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras, S. A.
        -  Acciona, S.A.
        -  Fluor Canada Ltd.
        -  Dragados Canada Inc.
        -  Acciona Infrastructure Canada, Inc.
        -  Hatch Mott MacDonald Ltd.
        -  AMEC Earth and Environmental, Ltd.
    

These companies are diverse and their team members include many local contractors and businesses - a criteria of the RFQ. In their proposals, the companies demonstrated a strong interest in partnering with local companies and businesses.

Short-listed bidders will be invited to respond to the request for proposals, which will be released in December 2009 . The two remaining pre-qualified companies will be held in reserve to replace any of the short-listed bidders should they be unable to participate. The companies being held in reserve include SNC Lavalin Inc. and WEP Development Partners.

Evaluation teams consisted of professional staff from Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation collectively having many decades of experience in highway design, construction financing and maintenance. The evaluation process was overseen by an independent fairness monitor.

Ontario approved the provincial environmental assessment for The Windsor-Essex Parkway in August 2009 and the required federal environmental assessment decision is anticipated in the coming weeks. A winning team will be selected in 2010 to design, build, finance and maintain The Windsor-Essex Parkway, which will be owned and operated by the provincial government and it will not be tolled.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway is the most significant single highway investment the province has made in Ontario's history and it will provide a major boost to the local and regional economies. The creation of 12,000 project-related jobs, with the majority in the Windsor-Essex area, is anticipated.

Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of Transportation are working to develop The Windsor-Essex Parkway, which will remain publicly owned, publicly controlled and publicly accountable. Infrastructure Ontario is a Crown corporation dedicated to managing some of the province's larger and more complex infrastructure renewal projects - ensuring they are built on time and on budget.

Find out more about Infrastructure Ontario www.infrastructureontario.ca.

Explore The Windsor-Essex Parkway at www.weparkway.ca.

Disponible en français

    
                                 Backgrounder
           The RFQ Evaluation Process for The Windsor-Essex Parkway

    -   The Evaluation Framework for the request for qualifications (RFQ) was
        developed by Infrastructure Ontario with support from the Ontario
        Ministry of Transportation (MTO).

    -   The RFQ had five criteria categories. Scores were assigned to each
        category and the entire submission was graded out of 100 points.

    -   The categories, and scores allocated to each, were based on the best
        practices of Canadian jurisdictions and Infrastructure Ontario's RFQ
        evaluation template.

    -   Each participating company was scored in the following categories:
        -  Approach to project development;
        -  Approach to partnering including with local contractors;
        -  Design capability and experience;
        -  Construction capability and experience;
        -  Maintenance and rehabilitation management and experience; and
        -  Financial and financing information and their ability to
           successfully reach a financial close.

    -   In each category, companies were assessed for the composition of
        their team, as well as, for the capability and experience of
        individual team members.

    Assessing the completeness of the submissions

    -   Prior to starting the evaluation process, each submission was
        reviewed for completeness by Infrastructure Ontario's procurement
        experts and Infrastructure Ontario and MTO legal experts.

    Who evaluated The Windsor-Essex Parkway submissions?

    -   The evaluating teams consisted of:
        -  a technical team, comprised of Infrastructure Ontario and MTO
           staff with decades of experience evaluating submissions for
           transportation projects
           -  The evaluators assessed the developer's approach to project
              partnering and development, design capability and experience,
              construction capability and experience, maintenance and
              rehabilitation management and experience, and their plans for
              partnering with local businesses and contractors
        -  a financial team, comprised of Infrastructure Ontario and MTO
           staff
           -  They assessed each company's ability to successfully reach a
              financial close.
        -  an independent fairness monitor responsible for overseeing the
           evaluation process for fairness and transparency.


                       Building the Right Solution Now
    

In August 2009 , Ontario Cabinet approved The Windsor-Essex Parkway for the new access road to a new Canadian inspection plaza and international bridge.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway is the best solution to meet community needs and study goals. The Detroit River International Crossing (DRIC) study team recommended its plan for approval based on extensive consultation combined with detailed technical studies and analysis.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway will be a below-grade six-lane freeway with 11 tunnels and a network of four lane service roads allowing long-distance international traffic to travel unimpeded by traffic signals to a new inspection plaza and river crossing while improving community linkages and providing extensive new trails, green space and other recreational opportunities. Trucks will be hidden from the view of homeowners, noise levels will be reduced, and overall air quality conditions will improve for Windsor-Essex residents.

The Windsor-Essex Parkway will be the most significant highway investment made in Ontario history. It is unprecedented in its community enhancement features for any highway, anywhere in Ontario. It will be designed using Ontario's high safety standards and practices that have made Ontario's roads the safest in North America .

The Windsor-Essex Parkway will improve the quality of life for Windsor-Essex residents.

    
    -   More than 300 acres of green space
        -  This is more than 70 acres larger than the 230 acre Ojibway
           Prairie Provincial Nature Reserve.

    -   20 km of recreational trails
        -  This is 5 km longer than the 15 km E.C. Row Expressway.
        -  Pedestrians and cyclists will be able to choose a route that will
           allow them to travel from E.C. Row Expressway to Howard Avenue and
           never cross paths with a vehicle.

    -   1.8 km of coverage over the roadway on 11 tunnels
        -  This is more than three CN Towers stacked on top of each other.
        -  Strategically located tunnels and pathways will safely connect
           communities for the first time.
        -  Connections for wildlife will be created.

    -   Trucks off local streets
        -  Trucks will use the new below-grade freeway to access the border,
           easing congestion on local streets.
        -  The Windsor-Essex Parkway will improve the movement of traffic to
           and from the border.

    -   The separation of local and border-bound traffic
        -  New service roads will improve access to neighbourhoods, schools,
           natural areas and shopping.

    -   No traffic signals
        -  Trucks will no longer have to brake, idle or accelerate on their
           way to the border, thereby reducing diesel emissions and improving
           community air quality.

    -   An end-to-end solution
        -  The Windsor-Essex Parkway is a key component of a new border
           transportation system that will provide a direct route connecting
           Highway 401 in Windsor to Interstate 75 in Detroit.
    

The Windsor-Essex Parkway will create approximately 12,000 project-related jobs, with the majority in the Windsor-Essex region. This modern, state-of-the-art facility will support existing industry, attract new investment, bring new jobs and create business opportunities in Windsor-Essex, Ontario and all of Canada .

For more information on The Windsor-Essex Parkway visit www.weparkway.ca.

For further information: Paulette den Elzen, Infrastructure Ontario, [phone]; Heather Grondin, Windsor Border Initiatives Implementation Group, Ministry of Transportation, [phone]