Negotiations are underway to finalize a deal with an international consortium selected to build two new hospitals in Campbell River and the Comox Valley.
Tandem Health Partners, a consortium of nine companies (see list below), has been selected by Island Health as the proponents to design, build, finance and maintain two new hospitals.
The project is estimated at $600 and will include a 95-bed, $266-million facility to be built next to the current Campbell River hospital site and a 153-bed hospital in Courtenay.
Construction will begin as soon as the contract is signed. The challenge now is to negotiate a “fixed-price, performance-based agreement” with Tandem.
Heading up the consortium is the Canadian arm of Balfour Beatty Capital which has offices in London, Sidney, Philadelphia and Toronto. According to its international website and healthcare sector:
“Balfour Beatty invests in, designs, builds and maintains a broad portfolio of hospital and healthcare projects. These range from small, specialist facilities to large, complex, multi-disciplinary hospitals for healthcare authorities.”
The North Island Hospitals Project will be built as a public-private partnership (P3). Examples of previous P3 health care projects in B.C. include the Royal Jubilee Hospital Patient Care Centre in Victoria, the Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, and the Fort St. John Hospital.
Recently, Balfour Beatty won a P3 contract to build an $85.5 million acute mental health and community hospital in Scotland. In a February press release Balfour Beatty CEO Andrew McNaughton provided hint of the North Island Hospitals Project.
“In recent years we have become a leader in the healthcare (P3) market in the United Kingdom coupled with substantial experience in the construction of major hospital facilities in the U.S.,” he said. “We have transferred these skills to leverage opportunities in adjacent markets such as Canada.”
The naming of Tandem follows an extensive evaluation of proposals submitted by three consortiums. Island Health is also promising to release details of the contract once it is finalized.
As well, John Singleton, the fairness advisor for the competitive selection process, has had full access to every aspect of the evaluation and will prepare an independent opinion regarding fairness of the process.
His report will be made public at www.partnershipsbc.ca
Fast facts:
- Work is expected to begin this summer on the two hospitals with completion slated for 2017.
- The Campbell River work will create approximately 900 direct jobs and more than 650 indirect jobs in industries supplying goods and services used in construction.
- The Comox Valley work will create approximately 1,000 direct jobs and more than 750 indirect jobs.
- All health-care services will continue to be funded by the province and delivered by Island Health.
- The $600 million cost of the project will be shared by the province and the Comox Strathcona Regional Hospital District.
Tandem Health Partners
Balfour Beatty Capital – Canada Inc.
Gracorp Capital Advisors Ltd.
Connor Clark & Lunn GVest Traditional Infrastructure LP
Graham Design Builders LP
Balfour Beatty with Farmer Construction Ltd.
Stantec Inc.
Blue Cottage Consulting
Honeywell International Inc.
Balfour Beatty Communities