The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) recently announced that it has entered into an agreement with Contrecoeur Terminal Constructors General Partnership (CTCGP), formed by firms Pomerleau and Aecon, that will assist the MPA in the design of the in-water works for its Contrecœur expansion project through a progressive design-build (“progressive DB”) approach.

Last October, the MPA stated that it would be using a hybrid approach for the design and construction of its expansion project. In this approach, land side works will be carried out by a private partner, while in-water works (including dock construction and dredging) will be undertaken by the MPA with partner support. Accordingly, in the last few days, the MPA reached an agreement with CTCGP on developing the design aspect of the project.

Under the collaborative DB approach, the contractor (in this case, CTCGP) and the master builder (the MPA) will work closely together throughout the project’s development phase to finalize the design and arrive at an estimated schedule and cost for the project works. This approach, increasingly used for major infrastructure projects, offers advantages in terms of efficiency and coordination, while providing greater predictability and risk management for all parties, particularly in terms of costs and deadlines. CTCGP was chosen for the expertise and experience of its partners in infrastructure and transportation, as well as in collaborative DB-type approaches.

In view of anticipated growth in the container sector, the Port of Montreal is reaching this new milestone in its expansion project where it will build a new container terminal in the municipality of Contrecœur. Connected to major rail lines and highways, this new terminal will eventually represent an additional annual capacity equal to 60% of the containers currently handled in Montreal, to meet the needs of importers, exporters and consumers in Quebec and Eastern Canada.

Of strategic importance to the future of Canada’s supply chains, the project received a favourable decision statement in 2021 from Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change. The project is financially supported by the Government of Canada ($150 million) and the Government of Quebec ($130 million).

Project design with CTCGP, along with assessment of cost and schedule, will take place over the next 12 months. At the end of this phase, the MPA aims to award the dock construction and dredging project works based on its procurement processes, and will present an updated implementation schedule.

Planning for the land-based works is also taking place currently. By the summer of 2024, the MPA will launch an international request for proposals to select a private partner to build the land side component of the terminal (container yard, buildings, public utilities, and rail connection). This private partner will also operate and maintain the terminal under a DBFOM (design, build, finance, operate and maintain) approach. A schedule for land-based works is also expected to be released once the outcome of the request for proposals is known, again within the next 12 months or so.

At the same time, the MPA is working on the compensation plans, follow-up programs and mitigation measures required to meet the conditions of the favourable decision statement received for the project. Developed with the help of experts, compensation plans and follow-up programs are forwarded to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC) once finalized and then shared with the public, in accordance with the established procedure.

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