Contrecoeur expansion project includes dredging

The Government of Canada is pledging $150 million towards the Port of Montreal’s expansion project northeast of the city. The project would see a new container terminal for the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) built in Contrecoeur – about 70 kilometres from Montreal – along the Saint-Lawrence River.

This financial support announced yesterday by federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez will enable the MPA to implement a new delivery model for the major expansion project on Montreal’s South Shore.

Under the MPA’s new approach, the MPA will be taking over some of the responsibilities for carrying out the project and cancels the current call for tenders to opt for a more agile approach.

Work on the future terminal will be carried out in hybrid mode:

• Marine works will be entirely carried out by the MPA. The MPA will act as prime contractor for this phase, which includes dock construction and dredging work. Project planning will use a Design-Build approach (“DB model”) with a specialized firm assisting the MPA for the next 9 to 12 months. At the end of this phase, the MPA will assign the project works according to its procurement processes, and will present an updated schedule for this component of the project works.
• Land site works and operations will be carried out with a private partner. The MPA will issue a Request for Proposals in early 2024 to select a private partner to build the terminal (container yard, buildings, facilities and rail connection). This private partner will also operate and maintain the terminal under a DBFOM (Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain). The water-based project works mentioned above are excluded from this component.