The 20th annual conference of The Canadian Council of Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) was held in Toronto on November 26-27, 2012. Drawing industry leaders from within and outside of Canada, the conference this year reflected the maturity of the Canadian market and the interest of P3 players looking beyond its borders for future opportunities, particularly participating in the growing U.S. P3 market.
One of the keynote speakers was Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, who championed the proposed $3.5 billion Detroit-Windsor bridge and expressed appreciation for Canada’s leadership on the proposed project and in the P3 sector generally. With the Canadian government indicating that it will take the lead in procuring and financing the project, Governor Snyder stated that he hopes to see the project come to market within the next couple of years.
A well-attended session discussed recently closed US P3 projects: California’s Presidio Parkway Project (awarded to a Hochtief consortium in 2011); Florida’s I-595 Project (awarded to an ACS consortium in 2009); and Denver’s Eagle Project (awarded to a Fluor consortium in 2010). The panelists discussed the complexity of bringing these projects to financial close and US-specific issues.
Many attendees felt that, while the Canadian P3 market continues to generate a steady pipeline of P3 projects, the US infrastructure market is well-poised to attract many of the seasoned Canadian P3 players. SNC-Lavalin, an experienced Canadian P3 developer, was recently shortlisted and submitted a bid on the East End Crossing Project. Other seasoned Canadian P3 participants, such as Bilfinger Berger and Hochtief, were also members of shortlisted consortia for the project, and the Presidio Parkway Project was awarded to Hochtief. Canadian P3 players have also expressed interest in potential upcoming P3 projects such as Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Accelerated Regional Transportation Improvements Project and the Travis Country Courthouse project in Texas.
