Transportation and Works
March 9, 2016

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Al Hawkins, Minister of Transportation and Works:

Minister Provides Update on Early Tenders for Road Work

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to provide my Honourable colleagues with an update regarding early tendering for road work.

Early tendering is a commitment of our government and mandated by Premier Ball as part of the development of a multi-year infrastructure plan to allow companies to take full advantage of the short construction season in our province.

Over the past number of months much work has been done to ensure earlier tenders this year, and to lay the groundwork for the issuing of tenders as early as January in the coming years. Regional directors and engineers have conducted assessments and rankings of potential projects. This has been followed by a provincial assessment and evaluation to identify shovel-ready projects based on immediate needs.

Early tendering Mr. Speaker is one element of a new approach that is informed by evidence and evaluation, and is proactive and long term. It also reflects the principles of openness, transparency and accountability.

Early tenders for the 2016 construction season will be announced very soon Mr. Speaker, and in the coming months we will publicly release a multi-year transportation infrastructure plan that will outline projects for the coming years. This plan will also reflect projects to be cost-shared with the Federal Government under the Building Canada Fund.

Thank you

2016 03 09                              2:30 p.m.