Acciona Selected as Preferred Proponent for Vancouver Broadway Subway Extension Project

By TBM Staff July 21, 2020

The ACCIONA–Ghella consortium led by ACCIONA has been selected by the Province of BC as preferred proponent for the Broadway Subway Project. The project is an extension of the Millennium Line and a key link in Metro Vancouver’s transportation system.

The CAD$2.8 billion contract includes the design and construction of 7 new kilometres of network, part of which will be underground, including twin tunnels with an excavation diameter of 6 m (5.2 m ID) as well as six new stations.

Construction of the subway will involve works starting in 2020, with the new extension opening in 2025. This will be the fifth extension of the metro system that was inaugurated in 1986. Once in service, the journey time on the Millennium Line will take 11 minutes, saving passengers an average of 30 minutes a day while alleviating traffic congestion in the city.

“This new contract will mark ACCIONA’s 6th active infrastructure project in BC. We are proud to share the trust of the Province of BC and are looking forward to another strong collaboration with Ghella. Our team is looking forward to develop further connections with our local partners and communities as ACCIONA will be celebrating its 20 anniversary in Canada in 2021.”, said Carlos Planelles, Country Director and President for ACCIONA North America.

The project, using a design-build-finance approach, is funded and delivered by the Government of British Columbia, with contributions from the Government of Canada’s and the city of Vancouver.

The consortium selected by the Province of British Columbia comprises ACCIONA (60%) and the Italian firm Ghella (40%), which has an important experience in underground works. Both global companies have previously collaborated to construct iconic international transport infrastructure such as Scandinavia’s longest railway tunnels for the Norwegian railway authorities (the Follo Line); the Legacy Way tunnels in Brisbane (Australia); or the Bologna Node on the Milan-Naples high-speed rail section in Italy.

ACCIONA also has extensive experience on its own of constructing metro lines in Spain, Ecuador and Brazil, as well as railway tunnels.