On March 14, 2017, two years after having achieved preferred bidder status, Harbour Resource Partners (HRP) successfully reached financial close on the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant P3 project. HRP is a consortium of experienced firms including AECOM Canada, Graham Infrastructure, CEI, SENA, Graham Capital Partners and Michels Canada. HRP includes top-tier global expertise in wastewater treatment plant financing, design, construction and operations coupled with local knowledge and experience gained on past projects.
In May 2014, Operis reported it had supported Graham Capital Partners, achieving preferred bidder stage for the project. McLoughlin Point was chosen in 2013 by the BC local authority as the preferred site, however, the plan fell apart later in 2014 when Esquimalt’s City Council rejected the required zoning. After two years of debates, Mayor Barb Desjardins reported that the revised plan, comprising a smaller overall footprint and improved landscaping, addressed many of the concerns raised originally by the people of Esquimalt.
Construction of the 108 megalitre/day tertiary wastewater treatment plant and the undersea forcemain, stretching from Ogden Point to McLoughlin Point, will now begin in spring 2017. The wastewater treatment project will be complete by the end of 2020 and will include construction activities in Esquimalt, Oak Bay, Saanich, and Victoria. The project is designed to minimize visual impacts from the water and includes a multi-level green roof, mature landscaping, observation deck and multi-use education space.
The Operis advisory team provided financial modelling and advisory services to HRP, as well as due diligence services of the financial model, from bid submission through to financial close.