The Manitoba government is again releasing the list of tenders for upcoming core infrastructure projects early to give the construction industry time to prepare for another record season of building highways, roads and bridges across the province in 2016. This announcement was made by Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton.
“We are once again increasing provincial investments in core infrastructure and giving the construction industry time to prepare for the increased work,” Minister Ashton said. “Construction firms will have extra time to do the planning, hire and train the workers, and buy the equipment they need to build and upgrade highways, roads and bridges.”
The highway, road and bridge tender package released today is part of the Manitoba government’s five-year, $5.5-billion core infrastructure plan, which is supported with the one-cent-on-the-dollar PST increase, Minister Ashton said. The Conference Board of Canada has projected this plan will create 58,900 jobs over five years, boost the economy by $6.3 billion and boost exports by $5.4 billion, the minister noted.
“The tender schedule is important information for the design, heavy construction and related supply industries,” said Chris Lorenc, president, Manitoba Heavy Construction Association. “This benefits industry as it enables earlier purchase of products and supplies, and investment in human and capital resources, each of which support competitive bidding and accelerated construction.”
The tender advertising schedules have traditionally been released near the end of November, Minister Ashton said. The importance of releasing the list of tenders earlier was a key recommendation from construction industry leaders who said they would need more time to submit their bids and plan for the significant increase in road construction made possible by the Manitoba government’s $5.5-billion investment, the minister noted.
The minister noted that for the 2014 and 2015 construction seasons, Manitoba has invested more than $1 billion in highway construction works.
The tendering schedule for the 2016-17 construction season is available at www.gov.mb.ca/mit/contracts. The core infrastructure report and analysis by the Conference Board of Canada are available at www.steadygrowth.ca.
