What are the next steps for the project?
Following Council approval of the OLRT Implementation Report, the City is scheduled to complete its Request-for-Qualification process in October 2011. This will pre-qualify private sector teams who can participate in the subsequent Request-for-Proposals (RFP). The RFP process is scheduled for completion by December 2012, allowing construction to commence in early 2013. Current construction estimates show that construction will be completed by the end of 2017 and will be fully commissioned and operational by mid-2018.
However, the City will be offering incentives in the RFP for private sector teams to complete the project even sooner, provided it can be done responsibly. Therefore, it is possible that Ottawa will have a fully functional LRT system even earlier than mid-2018; the City will have a better sense of this possibility once the private sector teams have submitted their RFP proposals in 2012.
On October 21, 2011 Mayor Jim Watson announced the close of the Request-for-Qualification (RFQ) phase and presented the following three shortlisted world-class consortia:
Ottawa Transit Partners, led by Vinci Concessions (www.vinci-concessions.com)Rideau Transit Group, led by ACS Infrastructure Canada Inc. (www.grupoacs.com)Rail Transit Partners, led by Bouygues Travaux Publics S.A. (www.bouygues-construction.com)
The project is currently in the Request-for-Proposal (RFP) phase. The RFP was issued on October 27, 2011 with final submissions due in July 2012. During this phase the shortlisted consortia will prepare their detailed OLRT project designs. The City of Ottawa and Infrastructure Ontario will then evaluate each submission and present a winning proposal to Council for ratification in late 2012.
Furthermore, following the approval of a motion presented by Deputy Mayor Steve Desroches, the City of Ottawa will be hosting a local trade show in January 2012. The trade show will be an opportunity for the short listed consortia to form local partnerships with Ottawa talent and suppliers and for the City to maximize the local economic impacts of this investment.
Project construction will commence in early 2013; current construction estimates indicate that construction will be completed by the end of 2017 and fully commissioned and operational by mid-2018.
