April 15, 2009

Metro Vancouver awards twin-tunnel contract to Seymour-Cap Partnership

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

Metro Vancouver has finalized negotiations and awarded a contract for completion of the twin tunnels component of the Seymour Capilano Filtration Project.

It goes to the Seymour-Cap Partnership, which is made up of the companies Frontier-Kemper, J.F.Shea and Aecon.

The partnership bid $181 million to complete the job. It will proceed using the original engineering design and the two tunnel boring machines currently in place.

The project will provide filtration and ultra-violet disinfection of drinking water from two of Metro Vancouver’s three source water supplies.

It has four key elements: the filtration plant, located in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve; the Capilano pumping station; twin tunnels that will convey water from the Capilano source to the plant for treatment and return treated water for distribution; and an energy recovery facility.

Bilfinger-Berger Canada (BBC) Inc. was hired in 2004 by Metro Vancouver to construct the twin tunnels with a combined length of 14.2 km.

Work on the project was suspended by BBC in January 2008 due to concerns about the safety of underground workers.

As a result, on May 26 Metro Vancouver terminated the company’s right to perform further work on the project.

According to Metro Vancouver, BBC refused to proceed, even though they were provided with a comprehensive and viable plan for completion.

The company also filed a suit in B.C. Supreme Court against Metro Vancouver, which alleges that the regional authority improperly cancelled the contract and failed to develop a viable and safe plan for completion.

BBC is suing Metro Vancouver, the engineer Hatch Mott Macdonald and the land owner, the District of North Vancouver for $22.5 million in unpaid invoices, unpaid holdback and applicable taxes. They are also seeking a court order for the return of more than $ 35 million worth of equipment and buildings at the site.

A Builders Lien was put against the title to the lands, by the company in an attempt to secure the claim.

A trial date hasn’t been set.

The filtration plant and energy recovery facility are nearing completion, and the pumping station is already complete.

The cost of constructing the tunnels was initially estimated at about $100 million, but overall costs for the tunnels are now projected to reach $400 million.

Work on the tunnels is expected to commence in April, with completion anticipated at the end of 2012 or early 2013.

Filtration plant construction is expected to be completed this spring and the plant fully operational by the fall.

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