AltaLink parent wins bid on power line

By Dina O’Meara, Calgary Herald May 2, 2012

Alberta transmission operator AltaLink LP has awarded its parent, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc., the contract to build a controversial $2-billion Edmonton-to-Calgary power line, the companies said Tuesday.

The Montreal-based engineering giant, which took full ownership of AltaLink a year ago, won an “open and competitive” bidding process to construct the Western Alberta Transmission Line, a deal estimated at $1.6 billion by industry analysts.

“We are proud to have success-fully competed for this new con-tract and we are pleased to have been able to demonstrate value for money through our proposal,” Patrick Lamarre, SNC-Lavalin executive vice-president, said in a statement.

The contract is to deliver engineering, procurement and construction for transmission lines and substations based on project need assessments and permitting.

The deal constitutes the bulk of AltaLink projects for the next five years, including about $1.4 billion for the high voltage direct current power line to link power generation west of Edmonton to demand loads in Calgary and southern Alberta.

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