A homegrown contracting company based in Fort St. John has been chosen as part of a partnership of companies that will build the main infrastructure for the Site C hydroelectric dam.
Premier Christy Clark and Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett announced November 25 that Petrowest Construction – a division of Petrowest Corporation (TSX:PRW) – will be one of the partners that will build the key components of the dam: the earth-filled dam, two diversion tunnels, a concrete foundation and spillway.
Petrowest Construction is one of the partners of in the Peace River Hydro Partners, which also includes ACCIONA Infrastructure Canada Inc.and Samsung C&T Canada Ltd.
BC Hydro CEO Jessica McDonald said the contract awarded to the partners, valued at more than $1.5 billion, is the single largest contract for the Site C project.
The work will employ 1,500 workers, 600 of whom will be already on site by May.
Read: Awarding of Site C contract met with mixed reactions
Petrowest was one of four companies to bid on the contract. The B.C. government appears to be putting a strong emphasis on hiring local workers in its awarding of the contract to the company, which has given assurances that it will give preference to local workers – including First Nations – before looking further afield to the rest of B.C. and beyond.
Quigley's company, Quigley Contracting, was acquired by Petrowest Corp. in 2007 and Quigley became Petrowest Corp.'s CEO in 2010.
Bennett said the company has a track record of hiring locally. The company will give preference to local workers first, including First Nations, before going outside of B.C.
“There is assurance that anybody…from Fort Nelson, Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Hudson Hope, Taylor, Chetwynd, Tumbler Ridge and all parts in between who wants to work will have an opportunity to work on the Site C project,” said Bennett.
“This project is a critical job creator for my community,” said Petrowest Corp. CEO Rick Quigley said.
“It’s no secret that the oil and gas (sector) has impacted the industry, with a downturn in the prices, and some families in the Peace are really counting on the opportunity that will come as a result of building this project.”
Preparatory work has already begun on the dam. Workers already on site are mostly from B.C., Bennett said – about 80%.
“Some people say, ‘Well, there’ a lot of Alberta licence plates kicking around the site. That’s because British Columbians have actually come home to work on the Site C project.”
