Four big Massey Bridge contracts up for grabs.

Preparations to replace the aging George Massey Tunnel with a bridge are rapidly underway.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure issued requests for proposals on Oct. 1 for four major, long-term contracts, just a week-and-a-half after Premier Christy Clark’s Sept. 20 announcement. 

Massey Tunnel (Highways B.C.) 

Clark revealed construction of the Richmond-to-Delta bridge would start in 2017, but she did not say in her Union of B.C. Municipalities convention speech what the budget would be or how it would be financed. Does government know all the answers and is it just too afraid to give us all sticker shock? 

Companies hoping to win contracts for community relations and consultation, technical advisory, environmental management and owner’s engineer services have until Oct. 24 to file their bids. A rather short three-week window for something so complex. (UPDATE - Oct. 22): On Oct. 21, just three days before the bid deadline, the government extended the closing date for submissions by a week to Oct. 31. 

Contract values were not disclosed in the tendering documents, but the terms run November 2013 to March 2022. The government has an option to extend each contract until 2024. 

The George Massey Tunnel, opened in 1959, carries 80,000 vehicles a day and is Metro Vancouver's third busiest crossing. 

“The existing four-lane tunnel is congested for 12 hours a day in both directions, with significant impacts for commuters, goods movers and tourists,” according to the RFP documents. “It is the only major Fraser River crossing in Metro Vancouver with a single lane of traffic in the off-peak direction during the daily commute.”

The owner’s engineer contract is the most complex, estimated to be 160,000 person hours for structural, traffic, geotechnical, seismic and electrical engineering. 

“The contractor shall have extensive engineering experience in the development and delivery of large transportation infrastructure projects, including major bridge structures, in an urban environment,” said the RFP.

A two-year seismic upgrade costing $19 million finished in 2006. 

#LiquorLeaks -- the influence of Rich

Minister of Energy and Mines Rich Coleman, the Fort Langley-Aldergrove member, is in his fourth term. The B.C. Liberals' house leader's resume includes stints as Solicitor General, Minister of Social Development and Minister of Forests and Range. 


But they keep bringing him back into the liquor and gambling portfolio.
His latest tenure began Feb. 8 -- just 13 days before the government announced the privatization of the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch's logistics in the Feb. 21 budget. 


Coleman also had the liquor duties in October 2009 when Exel Logistics vice-president Scott Lyons penned the Project Last Spike internal memo that serves as the playbook for the company's plan to privatize B.C. liquor distribution and warehousing. The memo discusses using Exel's relationship with Coleman to influence the writing of the request for proposals in Exel's favour. Exel concedes that ContainerWorld might try the same tactic to further its goals or to act as an ally of Exel's. (Note: I have made repeated requests to interview Coleman, but I have been denied every time.)

In this edition of #LiquorLeaks you will see the entry about Coleman from the list of "key contacts" targeted by the Exel pursuit team.

ContainerWorld -- a private bonded warehouse on contract to LDB -- is listed as a "competitor," but the Exel memo also says it has a longstanding relationship with Italian alcohol logistics company Giorgio Gori whereby Gori would someday purchase ContainerWorld. Gori is conveniently owned by Deutsche Post DHL, the same parent company as Exel. Therefore Gori and Exel are sister companies!


In the memo, Exel also ponders buying Richmond-based ContainerWorld for $24 million and concludes "an acquisition approach is overall economically viable" to eventually take over the LDB contract. 

Key Contacts (from Exel's Project Last Spike memo, Oct. 6, 2009)

Name:  

Rich Coleman

Title:  

Minister of Housing and Minister Responsible for Liquor and Gaming 

Who owns relationship?:  

Mark Jiles

Coach/Influencer/Decision Maker/Gatekeeper: 

Decision Maker

Past Experience?:  

Strong cabinet minister. Premier looks to Rich, and takes on toughest portfolios -- softwood lumber, housing

Key concern?  

-Desire to transform system. Likes Alberta system, wants less government control 

-He is long in the tooth. He does not want to stick head out too far 

-Wants to understand why it is good for consumer, government, and union-Will sell it, but needs the bullets 

-Public perception 

Any relationship with competitor (Y/N)? 

Yes - Dennis Christmas (sic) of ContainerWorld is a contributor

Full coverage in Business in Vancouver

Logistics giant targets lucrative LDB contract

NDP blasts liquor privatization process

Alberta’s experience: product diversity booms, costs balloon

Industry irked over Liberals' push for liquor privatization