Metro Vancouver cuts ties with contractor on North Shore waste water plant

Metro Vancouver is severing ties with a contractor hired in 2017 to build the North Shore Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Metro Vancouver has issued a notice of default to Acciona Wastewater Solutions LP with an intent to terminate the contract for them to build the future North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant.

“Acciona has underperformed and consistently failed to meet its contractual obligations which include delivering the project on time and within budget, as required under the initial fixed-cost design-build-finance model. This project is already two and a half years behind schedule, and they’ve informed us that they require an additional two years. They’ve also asked for an increase in budget which would almost double the original contract price,” said Jerry Dobrovolny, Commissioner and CAO of Metro Vancouver.

“Choosing to initiate termination was a difficult but necessary decision after considering all other options. Our priority is protecting the interests of our region by delivering this project as quickly as possible with the smallest possible impact to residents.”

Metro Vancouver will now proceed with selecting a new contractor to deliver the project, and has engaged a panel of expert advisors with extensive experience in major capital infrastructure projects to review the process of selecting a new contractor, overall project design, and revised budget and schedule.

Acciona Wastewater Solutions LP was selected through a competitive process in 2017 to construct the project. The original completion date of the project was end of 2020.

In 2019, at the request of the contractor, the contract was revised to provide an additional two-and-a-half years to complete the project (end of 2023), along with an increased budget.

Metro Vancouver continued to uphold the terms of the contract, including making all payments due in a timely fashion. However, Acciona Wastewater Solutions LP has missed key construction milestones, Metro Vancouver says.

When complete, the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant will serve more than 250,000 residents of the Districts of West and North Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver and the Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, and provide tertiary treatment to better protect the environment.