SNC-Lavalin’s exit from fixed-price construction jobs shakes up shortlists for two big-ticket B.C. projects

An aerial shot of the old Pattullo Bridge alongside the SkyTrain bridge in Metro Vancouver. PHOTO: Getty Images

VANCOUVER—The shortlists for Metro Vancouver’s Broadway Subway project and the Pattullo Bridge Replacement project are both now missing a prominent name.

The British Columbia government had advanced each infrastructure job to the request for proposals stage earlier this year and narrowed the field of bidders to three teams for each. With SNC-Lavalin’s recent decision to quit taking on fixed-price construction contracts, however, the province has revised each shortlist.

The Montreal-based company was included in a construction capacity on each of the jobs, with several of its subsidiaries making up the entire project team for the $2.8 billion subway extension project.

Two of the three consortia for the Broadway subway project remain unchanged from the original shortlist, while the final team has been entirely overhauled.

In place of the West 9th Partners team on the original list, the province has elevated the UrbanTransit consortium.

It’s made up of:

Proponent: Salini-Impregilo S.p.A.; Astaldi Canada Design & Construction Inc.; Colas Rail Canada Inc.; GHD Ltd.; Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning Ltd.; IDOM Consulting, Engineering, Architecture S.A.U; Urban Strategies Inc.

Design-build contractor: Salini-Impregilo S.p.A.; Astaldi Canada Design & Construction Inc.

Design contractor: GHD Limited; Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning Ltd.; IDOM Consulting, Engineering, Architecture S.A.U; Urban Strategies Inc.

Systems integration contractor: Colas Rail Canada Inc.

Tunnel contractor: Salini-Impregilo S.p.A.; Astaldi Canada Design & Construction Inc.

The RFP for the subway project will remain open until April of next year and the province expects to pick a team to take on the work by mid-2020.

One of the teams for the $1.4 billion Pattullo Bridge Replacement project, meanwhile, has also been adjusted from the original shortlist. SNC-Lavalin remains on the job, but its role would shift from construction and design capacity to solely design.

The revised Fraser Crossing Partners consists of:

Proponent: Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc. and Aecon Group Inc.

Design-build contractor: Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc. and Aecon Constructors

Long-span bridge design contractor: SNC-Lavalin Inc., Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner Beratende Ingenieure VBI AG, Hatch Corp., EXP Services Inc. and Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc.

B.C. is scheduled to pick a team to build the new Pattullo Bridge sometime this fall.