Balfour Beatty Capital today announced that Susanna Han has been hired to lead Balfour Beatty’s latest business venture in the Canadian public-private partnership (P3) market. Ms. Han will oversee the new Toronto, Ontario office of Balfour Beatty Capital – Canada. Join discussion...

It was originally supposed to open twelve days from now, but Vancouver’s Canada Line has already racked up millions of rides since it commenced operations in mid-August — and it’s now carrying almost 100,000 people a day on average. The 12-mile automated light metro, which was built at a cost of C$2 billion, was one of the first major works of transit infrastructure built with the help of a public-private partnership (PPP) in North America Join discussion...

Proactive highway widening, maintenance and reinvestment are among the factors that have helped Highway 407 stem recessionary impacts, a company official said last week. Imad Nassereddine, chief traffic operations officer for the 407 ETR Concession Co. Ltd., was speaking at Transport Futures 2009: Road Pricing and Public Acceptance Workshops in Toronto Nov. 12 to 13. Join discussion...

Private/public partnerships (P3s) continue to evolve in British Columbia. The system is not remaining static. That was among the messages that Larry Blain brought to the Vancouver Regional Construction Association (VRCA) last week. Blain is chief executive officer of Partnerships B.C., the government agency that oversees proposed P3s in the province. Join discussion...

PRIVATE bidders will be invited to run Victoria's new $1 billion cancer centre jointly after the Victorian Government decided to deliver the project as a public-private partnership. Premier John Brumby said the deal would make the project more cost-effective. ''Victoria is a world leader in public-private partnerships,'' he said in a statement yesterday. ''The Royal Children's Hospital and Royal Women's Hospital are prime examples of how we are working with the private sector to deliver first-class hospitals cheaper than would otherwise be possible Join discussion...

Third quarter revenues reached a record $707 million, with increases reported in each of the four operating segments due primarily to the recent acquisitions of Lockerbie & Hole and South Rock, both in Alberta. Gross margin (representing revenues less direct costs and expenses) increased from $68.7 million (12.8% of revenues) in the third quarter of 2008 to $76.2 million (10.8% of revenues) in the third quarter of 2009. Join discussion...

"This new ring road is the concrete result of a forward-thinking vision that began 30 years ago," said Premier Ed Stelmach. "The foresight to start planning the transportation and utility corridors back then is paying dividends for Albertans today and will continue to benefit Albertans in the future. Stoney Trail represents our commitment to providing the infrastructure Alberta needs to support the province's economic growth and prosperity Join discussion...

CUPE Nova Scotia says it will fight any attempts by the provincial government to implement new public-private-partnerships - better known as P3's. CUPE Nova Scotia President Danny Cavanagh says, "We were quite surprised to read a newspaper story last week saying that the Dexter government would be asking Stephen Harper to help pay for two public-private partnership projects. Join discussion...

Four high schools to be built across the province, including one in Calgary, will cost taxpayers $40 million less than expected, Alberta's education and infrastructure ministers said Wednesday. The combined price tag for the schools slated for northwest Calgary, Edmonton, Sherwood Park and Spruce Grove came in at $96.7 million. Join discussion...

Those are magic words for politicians in a province where ballooning construction costs for public projects -- think fast ferries and the Vancouver Convention Centre expansion for a start -- have plagued successive governments. With the official opening of the Sea to Sky Highway in good time for the 2010 Olympics, those words are being uttered with delight by the Liberal politicians who signed off on what was at the time the largest single highway contract in provincial history. Join discussion...