Toronto, Ontario – January 10, 2006: Aecon Group Inc. (TSX: ARE) announced today that a joint venture in which its Industrial division is a 50% partner has secured a $204 million contract at Bruce Power's 'Bruce A' generating station.
The contract is part of Bruce Power's refurbishment and restart of units 1 and 2 at the Bruce A station located near Tiverton, Ontario. Work on the project begins immediately and will take approximately 3½ years to complete.
Under the contract, the joint venture will complete a large number of specific refurbishment projects throughout both nuclear units. The contract involves a wide variety of 'balance of plant' work including upgrading, repair and replacement of numerous systems and equipment ranging from condensers to process controls.
Bruce Power has estimated that restarting units 1 and 2 at the Bruce A station will boost Bruce Power's output to more than 6,200 MW - or about 25% of Ontario's electricity needs on a typical day.
"The nuclear sector continues to be a key and growing focus for Aecon. Our connection to the Bruce A station goes back to the key role we played in its original construction, and we're very pleased to be involved in this refurbishment project so many years later," said Paul P. Koenderman, Executive Vice President, Aecon Group Inc. and CEO, Aecon Industrial Group. "There is a growing consensus that nuclear power will continue to provide a larger contribution to meeting our electrical generation needs cleanly and efficiently, and the Bruce A restart project is a significant development in that growth trend."
"Aecon's long history in the nuclear sector and our long association with the Bruce A station itself makes us a natural fit for this job," said Jake Berg, President, Aecon Industrial Division. "We look forward to bringing Aecon's impressive safety record and proven construction capability to this important project."
Aecon is currently working on a previously announced $17 million project at Bruce A involving modifications to the station's secondary irradiated fuel bay.
Aecon Group Inc. is Canada's largest publicly traded construction and infrastructure development company. Aecon and its subsidiaries provide services to private and public sector clients throughout Canada and internationally.