News Release

SAINT JOHN (GNB) – The provincial and federal governments are making a combined investment of $114.6 million to the City of Saint John Safe Clean Drinking Water project.

“This vital investment is about providing Saint John residents with safe and clean drinking water and building a strong foundation for new development and growth throughout the region,” said Premier David Alward. “This project will create a significant number of construction jobs in the Saint John region. Working with federal, municipal, and private sector partners is an important part of our government's plan to create jobs in our communities and rebuild New Brunswick's economy.”

Under the proposed public-private partnership (P3) arrangement, project risks (including design, construction, financing, operations and maintenance) will be transferred to a private partner, which will bear responsibility for any cost overruns and delays.

“It is encouraging to see the City of Saint John adopt a P3 for the construction of their innovative water treatment facility,” said Saint John MP Rodney Weston. “Since the creation of PPP Canada in 2008, our government has been committed to P3s as an important way of looking beyond the traditional approaches to save money for taxpayers.”

Weston attended the announcement for federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, who is also minister responsible for PPP Canada.

The provincial government is investing $57.3 million through the Regional Development Corporation while the federal government is providing a $57.3 million non-repayable P3 Canada Fund contribution.

“Our government is very proud to help this innovative project move forward,” said Weston. "P3s provide municipalities with superior infrastructure and let governments hold the private sector accountable for the facilities they build. This has been my top priority since being elected in 2008 and I am very pleased to see this come to fruition for the people of Saint John.”

Saint John plans to construct a new 100 million litre per day drinking water treatment plant, three new 11 million litre storage reservoirs and 15 other water transmission system improvements. The drinking water project will provide Saint John residents with cleaner, safer water and allow the city to minimize maintenance costs.

“Securing funding for projects to deliver quality drinking water to our citizens is a key priority for Saint John Common Council,” said Saint John Mayor Mel Norton. “This commitment ensures we can make this priority a reality for the city.”

In 2008 the federal government announced the creation of the $1.2 billion P3 Canada Fund, and in the Economic Action Plan 2013 the government provided an additional $1.25 billion over five years to renew the P3 Canada Fund.

The fund is managed by PPP Canada, a Crown corporation responsible for advancing Canadian P3s through the provision of expert advice and support to all levels of government.