Edmonton's EPCOR selected to build Regina sewage plant
$224M upgrade needed to meet new environmental standards
The City of Regina wants a company owned by the City of Edmonton to be in charge of its new $224-million sewage treatment plant.
Regina officials announced Thursday that a newly formed entity called EPCOR Saskatchewan Water Partners has been selected as the preferred bidder to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the facility on the west edge of the city.
The partnership includes EPCOR Water Services, which is owned by the City of Edmonton.
EPCOR was the low bidder that met the technical specifications. The two other bidders were Prairie Water Partners and Wascana Environmental Partners.
Regina officials said EPCOR's bid was actually lower than the budget.
However, they also said no more details will be released until the deal is finalized, something that could take eight weeks.
Other members of the EPCOR Saskatchewan team include Graham Infrastructure LP, Lockerbie Stanley Inc., Stantec and Gracorp Capital Advisors.
The City of Regina says it needs a major sewage plant upgrade to accommodate a growing population as well as to meet tougher environmental requirements that are coming in 2016.
The project was controversial last year in that it's a so-called P3 (public-private partnership).
A referendum was held last fall to determine if the plant upgrade should be a P3 or a more traditional project that's run by the City. Voters ultimately decided to go with the P3.