VINCI Construction awarded €4.4bn Ontario Line contract

Metrolinx, the transit authority for the Greater Toronto region in Ontario, Canada, has said that it has awarded VINCI Construction Grand Projects the civil contract for the design-build-finance of a major portion of the new Ontario Line, in a 50/50 joint venture with Ferrovial, the Spanish multinational construction company.

In a statement, VINCI Construction said that the project will form part of the future 15.6-kilometre Ontario Line subway that will run from the Ontario Science Centre to the Exhibition/Ontario Place in Toronto.

Worth €4.4 billion, the contract will cover the financing, design and construction of the civil engineering, excluding rail equipment, for a 2x6 kilometre twin-tube tunnel, along with seven new stations on a general contracting basis – six of the stations are underground. The financing, partly mobilised by the contractor, includes a bank facility mobilising an international pool of eleven banks, including three Canadian ones.

It added that the project will require 89 months of work, with delivery scheduled for 2030. More than 1,500 direct jobs will be created during the project’s construction phase.

Driving sustainability

The contract will allow VINCI Construction to strengthen its presence in Canada, the company said adding that this new major project highlights its expertise in urban mobility. The French construction giant has already delivered an extension of Ottowa’s Confederation Line, where the contract covered the design, construction and financing of 27.5-kilometre of new track, 16 stations and the associated engineering structures.

The Ontario Line is a major infrastructure project that will reduce congestion, cut travel times, and drive sustainable development in the City of Toronto. It will put 227,500 more people within a short walk of transit and accommodate 388,000 daily rides by 2041. 

Once completed, the project will also significantly relieve congestion on the existing metro line one, as well as road traffic and the associated greenhouse gas emissions with as many as 28,000 vehicles taken off the roads each day.