Canada’s Department of National Defence (DND) has awarded a $55.45 million contract to Westpro, a division of Pomerleau Inc., headquartered in Surrey, British Columbia, for the demolition of the existing “B” Jetty at the DND’s Esquimalt dockyard in British Columbia. Westpro was the lowest of four bidders on the project.
Esquimalt is Canada’s Pacific Coast naval base and home port to its Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific headquarters.
Additionally, Pomerleau will be involved in preparing the site for future rebuilding work.
In deciding to demolish two jetties, the DND notes that the existing jetties, “A” and “B”, were originally designed for ships that were smaller and lighter than Canada’s more modern patrol frigates. Both jetties were built using treated wood. As such, the jetties are not long enough or deep enough to accommodate modern ships.
The project will include demolishing a few small buildings and relocating portion of the oily waste water treatment plant infrastructure. The demolition project is scheduled to begin this April and be completed by September 2019.
The ongoing project at the Esquimalt dockyard is expected to provide the Royal Canadian Navy’s Pacific Fleet with structurally sound docking facilities, which will be optimal for berthing Canada’s modern frigates and for newly designed vessels joining the fleet between 2018 and the mid-2040s.
“This major infrastructure project has reached another important milestone with the awarding of the “B” jetty site preparation contract to Pomerleau Inc. The outdated jetties have served the Royal Canadian Navy well for over 70 years, but they are now well past their intended service life. The two new state-of-the-art jetties will greatly improve the ship-docking infrastructure for Canada’s naval vessels at Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt,” says Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan
Following the demolition of “B” Jetty, the rebuilding of a new “B” Jetty will begin. The demolition and rebuilding of “A” Jetty will begin once “B” jetty is operational.
Gordon Mann, Pomerleau’s senior vice president of construction, says, “Westpro is excited in receiving the award of this complex project for Defence Construction Canada (DCC). We have an experienced team led by Normand Fortin ready for the challenge, and look forward to working with DCC and their staff in the successful delivery of the project.”