MPA moving ahead with Contrecoeur procurement

The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) is launching a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM) procurement process that will be open to national and international industry players.

With financial support from both levels of government, a favourable report from the Canadian Impact Assessment Agency, and a Ministerial Decision Statement allowing the project to proceed, the Port of Montreal’s Contrecœur expansion is a step closer to becoming operational.

National and international RFQ and RFP

A Request for Qualification (RFQ) will qualify a number of national and international consortia that, over the next few months, will be invited to submit a proposal to enter into a long-term Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain agreement for the future terminal. Operators who took part in preliminary discussions are invited to take part in the forthcoming steps of the process.

“The Contrecœur container terminal will be a world-class infrastructure able to efficiently serve Quebec, Ontario and the U.S. Midwest. With its industrial zoning and outstanding location near rail and highway access, the future terminal is an exemplary eco-friendly opportunity for a private partner seeking to participate in the growth of the St. Lawrence—Great Lakes Trade Corridor,” said MPA president and CEO Martin Imbleau.

Interested companies and consortia will need to demonstrate their technical expertise, financial soundness and knowledge of container market development. The conditions specified in the Decision Statement issued by the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada must also be respected.

Located in an industrial zone, the Contrecœur land reserve was acquired over 30 years ago by the Montreal Port Authority. By 2024, with the support of Canada Infrastructure Bank and private partners, the Port of Montreal intends to develop a new state-of-the-art container terminal to handle 1.15 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs).

Located close to consumers and importers in Quebec and Eastern Canada, and near major rail and road routes, the expansion is meant to strengthen the logistics hub in the St. Lawrence Valley.