The City of West Kelowna will be spending significantly less on their new water treatment facility than originally planned.
Plans surrounding the incoming Rose Valley Water Treatment Plant have been ongoing for some time, and now the city has secured a developer for the project.
What’s more, shovels are expected to hit the ground soon.
After tendering for the project closed Feb. 18, the city examined their options. In the end, the contract of $45.1 million was awarded to developer Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., who submitted the lowest bid.
With an upper budget limit of $75 million, and a preferred budget of around $50 million to offset pre-purchased items and other costs, the $45 million bid came as a welcome surprise.
Maple Reinders’s prices were consistently lower in every area, compared to other bidders, staff explained in a report to council Feb. 23.
“We needed this contract to close at around $50 million or a little bit under, to keep us within that budget and give us a little better room,” said City of Kelowna general manager of engineering and public works, Allen Fillion.
Maple Reinders is the same company that took on both the Powers Creek water treatment plant, the Peachland water treatment plant, and more.
“They very much know how to construct water treatment plants, (they are) very familiar with it, so they were able to be fairly aggressive with their pricing,” said Fillion.
Shovels are proposed to hit the ground March 8. The Plant is scheduled for completion in 2022.
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