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VANCOUVER – Two of British Columbia’s partnership projects
won awards last night at the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships
2006 National Awards. The awards recognize innovation and excellence in the
structuring and delivery of public-private partnerships, an area in which B.C.
is a leader across North America.
The Britannia Mine Water Treatment Plant received the Gold Award in the
Infrastructure category and the Kicking Horse Canyon Phase Two project won the
Award of Merit for Project Financing.
“I want to congratulate all the winners and everyone involved in these projects. These awards from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships are a testament to the fact that P3s save the taxpayers money, transfer risk, and add great value through design innovations and private sector ingenuity,” said Premier Gordon Campbell. “We want to make sure we get the best value for every single tax dollar we invest in infrastructure projects across British Columbia – and P3s will continue to help us accomplish that.”
“Partnerships BC is pleased to be working on behalf of the Province to deliver projects on time and on budget through the partnership approach,” said Larry Blain, Partnerships BC’s chief executive officer. “These awards provide excellent validation of B.C.’s partnership initiative.”
“The Britannia partnership project has provided an innovative and
cost-effective solution to one of the most significant and long-standing
environmental issues in British Columbia,” said Agriculture and Lands Minister
Pat Bell. “The clean-up of the old mine site has spurred renewed confidence in
Britannia, including the redevelopment and substantial expansion of the existing
residential community.”
“We have a successful history of major projects using the P3 model,
achieving millions of dollars in savings and other benefits for taxpayers,”
said Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon. “Our Kicking Horse Canyon project is
a prime example – a tremendous engineering feat incorporating innovative
designs delivered months ahead of schedule.”
The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships is a national non-partisan, non-profit organization founded in 1993 to conduct research, publish findings and to promote discussion of the benefits and risks of public-private partnerships in Canada and abroad. It is entirely funded by members who are divided almost equally between the public and private sectors. For more information, visit www.pppcouncil.ca.
B.C.’s partnership projects have won awards from the Canadian Council
for Public-Private Partnerships for three years running. In the past two years,
the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project, the Abbotsford Regional Hospital
and Cancer Centre Project and the Sierra Yoyo Desan Resource Road in
northeastern B.C. were award recipients in the Project Financing category.
B.C. currently has more than $4.7 billion in approved public private
partnerships under construction, which includes $3 billion of private capital.
For more information on these projects, visit Partnerships BC at www.partnershipsbc.ca.
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contact: |
Director, Communications and Government Relations Partnerships BC 604 660-0946 E-mail: jennifer.davies@partnershipsbc.ca |
Communications Director Office of the Premier 250 361-7783 |
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For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca. |
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