The city of Edmonton, Alberta, has named Marigold Infrastructure Partners (MIP) as the preferred proponent for the Valley Line West LRT project.
The two parties will enter final discussions with the design, build and partially finance contract expected to be finalized by the end of 2020.
Colas Infrastructure, Parsons, Standard General, Francl Architecture, Fast & Epp and Stantec comprise Marigold Infrastructure Partners.
The project entered procurement in January with three teams shortlisted to participate in the Request for Proposal phase of procurement in March. In addition to Marigold Infrastructure Partners, the other teams shortlisted include an Aecon-Dragados Valley Line West Joint Venture, consisting of ACS Infrastructure, Sener, Architecture49, Kasian Architecture Interior Design and Planning, Klohn Crippen Berger, Ledcor CMI, Platinum Engineering and WSP, and Urban Transit, consisting of Astaldi, Salini-Impregilo, FCC and IBI Group.
“We’d like to thank each of our proponent teams for participating in our procurement. We’re confident our rigorous competitive process has culminated in the selection of a strong team to deliver the Valley Line West LRT at good value for Edmontonians,” said Valley Line Director Brad Smid.
The C$2.6-billion (US$1.94-billion) Valley Line West project is the second phase of the two-phase Valley Line, which will ultimately deliver 27 kilometers (16.77 miles) of light rail to Edmonton. Valley Line Southeast, the first phase of the project, is under construction and work on the 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) Valley Line West is expected to begin in 2021 and take between five and six years to complete.
The Valley Line LRT will run mostly alongside traffic in designated lanes and move riders on low-floor, urban-style LRT vehicles between Mill Woods and Lewis Farms. The Valley Line West phase will connect downtown Edmonton to the west-end community of Lewis Farms.
“Marigold Infrastructure Partners is very excited to work with the city of Edmonton on the Valley Line West LRT. As partners of MIP, Colas—whose subsidiary Standard General has delivered projects in Edmonton since 1969, and Parsons—building on [its] decades-long legacy of delivering P3 projects in Alberta, are proud to help the city build Edmonton and meet its long-term strategic goals for the city,” said Xavier Fenaux with Colas Canada.
The city explains the Valley Line West LRT project will contribute to the recovery of the city and region post-COVID-19. An economic assessment of the project estimates construction will generate C$760 million (US$568.49 million) in wages in Alberta and another C$209 million (US$156.33 million) throughout the country. The project is expected to generate 8,800 jobs in the province and 2,700 across Canada.
