Canada Infrastructure Bank pitching in $20M to pilot P3 on small-scale Ontario municipal wastewater project

TORONTO—Several weeks after making its third-ever investment, the two-year-old Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) is opening its chequebook for a wastewater project in rural southern Ontario.

The crown corporation, which has focused until now on large-scale transit projects, said July 15 it has committed $20 million to support water and wastewater upgrades in Mapleton, a township northwest of Guelph, Ont.

The project is currently at the early stage of procurement, with Mapleton looking for a construction consortium to design, build, finance and operate several new and existing pieces of its water infrastructure. Construction of a new water tower, along with upgrades to a water pumping station, treatment plant and gravity sanitary collection system, are the main aspects of the job.

While the township will own the water infrastructure, the project delivery method means a private sector group will be responsible for operating and maintaining the new system for 20 years. The CIB said the approach should be considered a pilot for this type of public–private partnership when working on a smaller scale municipal project. It added its $20 million commitment will help improve the cost of financing and help attract a private sector partner.

The bank’s funding will come in the form of a standardized debt financing package offered to all group looking to take on the project during the request for proposals stage.

Last month, the CIB pledged $55 million to help fund a closer study of a possible dedicated Via Rail line between Quebec City and Toronto. It has also invested more than $1 billion in both Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain (REM) project and Ontario’s latest GO Transit expansion.