After a demanding qualification process, the consortium made up of multi-Latin company IMPSA and SNC Lavalin Inc. was selected by British Columbia Hydro (BC Hydro, a state-owned company in the Province of British Columbia, Canada) from among eight international business groups that submitted pre-qualification documents. The consortium is one of only three bidders on the final shortlist that will be submitting technical, economic and financial proposals to develop the John Hart Project on the Campbell River in Vancouver Island, Canada.
Should IMPSA and SNC Lavalin Inc. be awarded the contract, they will be responsible for designing and building the new hydropower plant near the old one, which has been in operation since 1947. The BM (Build and Maintain) contract provides for the construction of a new power plant with all the generation equipment, penstocks and water diversion weir, civil works for the powerhouse, headrace tunnel and ancillary works such as access roads, walking tracks for tourists and the necessary support works. IMPSA would be responsible for supplying power generation equipment and for financing, together with SNC Lavalin Inc., about 60 percent of the project.
The costs for designing and building the power plant have been estimated at two billion dollars. BC Hydro is planning to award the contract in July 2013 and start construction shortly afterwards. The plant is scheduled to be completed and commissioned by November 2018.
Construction of the power plant is expected create some 400 jobs per year for the duration of the building period.
The John Hart Power Plant is one of BC Hydro’s oldest hydropower generation facilities and the most important on Vancouver Island. Its replacement will improve service reliability and seismic safety, which will in turn help protect its well-known salmon habitat.