Summary#
Montréal city council adopted a position supporting a contract for an oxygen production unit at the Jean-R.-Marcotte wastewater treatment plant, as part of the plant’s ozone disinfection project. The agglomeration council makes the final decision at a later meeting, so this decision alone does not award the contract. City staff say the project aims to improve treated water quality and reduce contamination of the St. Lawrence River.
- The city’s position is to award Construction Deric inc. the construction contract for $127,984,000, taxes included. It was the lowest compliant bid in a public call for tenders with two bids.
- The position also includes $6,399,200 for contingencies and $1,149,750 for incidental costs, bringing the total to $135,532,950, taxes included.
- The proposed work includes constructing the unit’s buildings and installing equipment supplied by Air Products.
- The resolution includes an evaluation of Construction Deric’s performance. City staff say the contract has no bonus; late completion would incur a $15,000-per-day penalty, capped at 2% of the contract’s value.
What it means for you#
- People served by the plant: The unit is intended to supply oxygen for ozone disinfection at a plant that treats the island’s sanitary wastewater and rainwater from combined sewer systems. This decision does not itself establish when the unit will operate or what effect it will have.
- Taxpayers: The adopted position supports spending up to $135,532,950, taxes included. The materials do not say how that cost would be divided among municipalities or which budget would pay it.
- Construction Deric inc.: The company is the proposed contractor, but the contract is not awarded by this decision alone.
Money#
The council’s adopted position supports a total expenditure of $135,532,950, taxes included; the materials give no funding breakdown.
- The contract amount is $127,984,000; contingencies are $6,399,200; incidental costs are $1,149,750.
- City staff estimate the lowest compliant bid, including contingencies, is $18,876,074.88 (12.32%) below their estimate.
- The late-completion penalty is $15,000 per day, capped at 2% of the contract’s value.
What is unclear#
- The materials do not give a contract completion date or duration.
- They refer to financial information in the decision file, but do not provide it here; the funding source and cost-sharing are therefore unclear.
- The materials do not explain how the performance evaluation will be conducted or shared.
Case for#
- The unit is needed to supply oxygen to the ozone generators, so building it supports the planned disinfection process.
- City staff say the lowest compliant bid is below their estimate. They suggest the contractor’s existing work at the site may reduce mobilization, logistics and supply costs.
- Both submitted bids were found compliant, and Deric’s was lower.
Case against#
- Only two firms submitted bids. City staff report that one potential bidder withdrew because of the 17 addenda, which totalled about 1,884 pages to review. This raises a question about how much competition the tender attracted.
- The contingency and incidental-cost budgets add $7,548,950 to the contract amount. The materials do not say how much of those budgets is expected to be used.