WINNIPEG — The Province of Manitoba recently released a progress report on the construction of seven new schools at various phases of the design, tender and build process.
“Our government is building the most schools ever in Manitoba in such a short time period,” said
Manitoba Education and Training Minister Kelvin Goertzen in a statement.
“Over the past two decades, we averaged one new public school per year, but we’ve had to change our approach to keep up with unprecedented growth in some divisions. We’re happy to have found an innovative way to deliver the greatest value for money to Manitobans and ensure quality schools will be on time and on budget.”
Construction of a kindergarten to Grade 8 school in Winkler, in Garden Valley School Division, and a Grade 9 to 12 school in Niverville of the Hanover School Division are on schedule and estimated for completion by Aug.15, 2019, Goertzen said.
Manitoba’s 2018 budget, issued in March, confirmed construction of five additional new schools, with a Request for Proposals planned for Oct. 15 for a kindergarten to Grade 8 and a Grade 9 to 12 school, constructed together on the same site in Waverly West, which is part of the Pembina Trails School Division.
The two schools are being tendered as one package and will use a consolidated design-build procurement strategy. A contract will be awarded in early 2019, Goertzen said.
Separate tenders will also be issued for three schools with a compressed design schedule using the traditional design-bid-build process. The schedule for tenders is Nov. 16 for a kindergarten to Grade 8 school in southeast Brandon, Nov. 30 for a kindergarten to Grade 8 school in Waterford Green (Winnipeg School Division) and Dec. 14 for a kindergarten to Grade 5 school on Templeton Avenue (Seven Oaks School Division). The tenders will be awarded in late 2018 or early 2019.
The province explored the feasibility of the public-private partnership (P3) model but decided against using it.
“We will be achieving many of the advantages available through P3 school construction, which will allow us to bundle elements and build multiple schools at once through an accelerated process that saves money,” Goertzen said.
“Government as a whole still sees merit to exploring the P3 model on other projects, but we did our research in this particular area and developed our own innovative approach.”
The government’s approach will save $18 million and allow for construction of another school, he added.
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