$750M contract awarded for new Corner Brook hospital

Four companies have been signed on to a government contract to design, build, finance and maintain a portion of the long-awaited and long-promised new hospital in Corner Brook.

Premier Dwight Ball announced the Corner Brook Health Partnership as the selected group to be signed on to the $750 million contract.

The partnership is made up of the Plenary Group Ltd., PCL Constructors Canada Inc., Marco Services Ltd., and Johnson Controls Canada.

The new facility is a public-private partnership, or P3. It's a model the government is using for other projects, including the replacement for the Waterford Hospitalanda promised replacement for Her Majesty's Penitentiary.

Government said the newfacility will be attached to a new 145 bed long-term care home currently under construction.

The hospital will be seven storeys, 600,000 square feet and have 164 beds.

In a media release, government said the companies in the Corner Brook Health Partnership will host a job fair for skilled labourers for construction; develop an apprenticeship training program; and come up with a plan to assist with hiring tradeswomen to work on the site.

Construction is scheduled to start later this summer, with government expecting it to be finished in 2023.

Over the course of construction, government said it expects "an estimated 4,000 person years of employment and $460 million in GDP" to be created.

Corner Brook Health Partnership was one of two groups to put forward a submission during the province's 17-month tender procurement process.

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