EllisDon, PCL teams shortlisted for major Thunder Bay jail replacement project

Two construction consortia have been picked to prepare bids for a major project to replace the jail and corrections centre in Thunder Bay, Ont.

On April 1, Infrastructure Ontario and the Ministry of the Solicitor General said the EllisDon Infrastructure Justice and the Fengate PCL Progress Partners build teams have been shortlisted for the Thunder Bay Correctional Complex project. The two pre-qualified teams will prepare bids in the coming months as part of the request for proposals process.

Replacing an aging site in the Northern Ontario city, the new Thunder Bay Correctional Complex will include 325 beds, new automation and technology, while offering improved living conditions. It’s being built under a design, build, finance and maintain contract. Costs for the project have not been finalized, but Infrastructure Ontario estimated the work will run between $500 million and $1 billion in its latest P3 Market Update.

The next step in procurement advances a process started in 2018.

A separate, but related contract was handed down last month, with the province tapping Bird Construction to take on modular expansions at the Thunder Bay site, as well as at the Kenora, Ont. jail. That work will increase the capacity at both facilities to address overcrowding while the new prison complex is built.

Infrastructure Ontario expects to pick a winning bidder for the Thunder Bay Correctional Complex project by next spring.