Deal for 10 new schools inked

The Alberta government has signed a deal worth $253 million to build10 new schools in Calgary and Edmonton in co-operation with the private sector.

B2L Partnership won the contract, submitting the lowest-cost bid for the project, the province said in a release Thursday.

The consortium will design, build, and finance the new schools and maintain them for a 30-year term under a public-private partnership, or P3.

School boards will retain ownership of the 10 buildings, which are expected to open in September 2012.

The cost of building the new schools without private sector involvement would have been $105 million higher, the province estimated.

"Again Alberta's award-winning P3 method proves to be the best solution for delivering much-needed, top quality schools," said Ray Danyluk, minister of infrastructure.

But the Alberta Liberals questioned the value of the P3 partnerships, pointing to the Nova Scotia government's experience in 2001 when it had to cancel its P3 projects due to cost overruns of $32 million.

"If Alberta doesn't change direction now, we could be heading down the same path as Nova Scotia, with massive cost overruns that endanger schools our communities desperately need," said Harry Chase, the Liberals' education critic.

The P3 project also includes four newhigh schools in Edmonton, Calgary, Spruce Grove and Sherwood Park. Those schools are scheduled to be finished in January 2013, after that contract was awarded to Clark Builders in July 2009.

In June 2007, the province announced nine schools for Calgary and nine for Edmonton. They are set to open this fall.