Bouygues wins challenging Canadian airport PPP

The Arctic Infrastructure Partners consortium, which includes Bouygues, has signed a CA$ 300 million (US$ 290 million) contract to design, build, maintain and operate a new terminal at Iqaluit International Airport in the Arctic region of Canada.

The concession will run for 34 years, and will see a 10,000 m2 terminal built along with a 4,500 m2 services building. The contract also includes the extension and refurbishment of 400,000 m2 of runways and parking areas for planes.

The consortium comprises Bouygues subsidiaries Bouygues Building Canada and Sintra, which is part of the company’s road building arm, Colas, along with Infrared Capital Partners and Winnipeg Airports Authority

The project will increase the capacity of Iqaluit Airport, which is an important hub for both civil and military aviation. Air travel in this region of Canada is the only mode of transport that operates all year round. The airport serves a territory about the same size as Western Europe, but which has no road network to link its 25 communities.

The project has been designed to be energy efficient. It will include combined heat and power production, and is aiming for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification.

Construction is scheduled to start in spring 2014, with handover planned for December 2017. Bouygues anticipates a complex project schedule due to the difficult climatic conditions and the short window in which it is possible to deliver materials (July to October), when the sea is not frozen.

Olivier-Marie Racine, chairman and CEO of Bouygues Bâtiment International, said, “Bouygues Construction is entering a new stage of its development in North America, with its first airport project on the continent. Our expertise in constructing airport infrastructure and in managing complex projects will enable us to meet the challenges relating to this contract, particularly the logistical ones.”