November 18, 2021
Case Studies on Award-Winning P3 Projects Now Available
We're pleased to announce case studies are now available on three of the projects that were recipients of CCPPP's 2020 National Awards for Innovation & Excellence. These studies are free to download for CCPPP members and attendees at P3 2021 using the links below. The projects studied are the Regina Bypass, the Waterloo LRT ION Stage 1 and the Energy Services Acquisition Program (ESAP) / Energy Service Modernization (ESM) Project.
Designed to inspire others to consider innovative and efficient models for procuring infrastructure, the studies highlight many of the lessons learned about P3s. Each case provides a close look at how a successful P3 has worked, including how the partnership was established, its structure and operation and its resulting benefits.
We'd like to thank the project partners and procurement agencies for their contributions to the case studies, as well as Infrastructure Canada for its research support.
Opened in 2019 after four years of construction, the Regina Bypass is the largest transportation infrastructure project in Saskatchewan history and its single largest job creator. Improving traffic safety and mobility were the key drivers for the project, the awards committee noted. Previously, residents and visitors to the communities east of Regina had to cross the Trans-Canada Highway on non-signalized at-grade intersections, potentially in inclement weather with poor visibility. Since the bypass was completed, there has been a marked reduction in collisions. The $1.88-billion project involved building 12 interchanges, 60 kilometres of four-lane highway, 55 kilometres of new service roads, twinning on Highway 6, as well as the province’s first highway roundabouts.
This 19-kilometre LRT system, which opened in 2019, has already transformed travel in one of Canada’s key high-tech startup scenes. The ION corridor in Ontario’s Kitchener-Waterloo area passes through two historic downtowns, a university campus and business parks and is fully integrated into the region’s bus network, cycling and pedestrian routes. Using the P3 model achieved estimated cost savings of 12 per cent compared with traditional procurement. The awards committee noted that for the first year and a half of service GrandLinq and the OM&R provider Keolis improved system performance and met operating and maintenance targets, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project is also helping limit urban sprawl and protect farmland by intensifying development in existing urban areas.
This ambitious $1.8-billion initiative is modernizing energy centres in five locations — some of which date back almost a century — to provide heating and/or cooling for 80 buildings in the nation’s capital, including Parliament. The upgrades will lower operating costs for taxpayers and help reduce the Canadian government’s energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This designbuild-finance-operate P3 is set to reach substantial completion in 2025, followed by 30 years of operations and maintenance. The awards committee noted the project is complex because it involves the private sector mitigating risks from federal and interprovincial brownfield construction, six years of interim operations during construction, as well as factoring in protections for heritage assets. It also has built in flexibility to potentially expand the modernized district energy system to other public and private buildings in the region.
We'd also like to give a special note of thanks to the dedicated Awards Committee that reviewed the 2020 award applications, selected the winners and provided feedback on the case studies. Using their extensive P3 knowledge and experience, they seek to ensure the case studies provide a learning tool to seasoned practitioners, as well as those new to the P3 model. The 2020 Awards Committee volunteers were:
Cliff Inskip, Chair of the Awards Selection Committee and President, Polar Star Advisory Services Inc.
Shariq Alvi, Managing Director, Infrastructure and Project Finance, CIBC
Rupesh Amin, Founder and CEO, Conquora Capital Partners Inc.
Peter Hepburn, Managing Director and Head, Infrastructure and Project Finance, National Bank Financial Markets
Alain Massicotte, Partner, Blake Cassels and Graydon LLP
Johanne Mullen, Partner, National Capital Projects and Infrastructure Leader, PwC Canada
Dr. Alan Russell, Professor Emeritus & Chair, Computer Integrated Design & Construction, Department of Civil Engineering, University of British Columbia
Brad Nicpon, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Lindsay Wright, Senior Manager, Global Infrastructure, KPMG
To date, CCPPP has published more than 80 case studies on award-winning P3 projects. The Council will present case studies on three more projects in 2022. For more information and copies of past studies, please contact [email protected]