NEW BRUNSWICK Broccolini wins PWGSC Miramichi project lion-dollar Champlain Bridge connect- ing St. Lawrence River south shore communities with Montreal. Other consortium members include US-based Flatiron Construction and two Spanish-based companies, ACS Infrastructures and Dragados Canada. The bridge is expected to cost be- tween $3 billion and $5 billion, with SNC-Lavalin's share between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. The company, with two of its sub- sidiaries, has been charged relating to the company's Libyan dealings be- tween 2001 and 2011, when one of its senior executives established close ties with Saadi Gaddafi, deposed dic- tator Muammar Gaddafi's son. Court documents allege the com- pany offered bribes worth $47.7 mil- lion “to one or several public officials of the ‘Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,’” as Gaddafi called the nation he ruled until he was over- thrown and killed in 2011, the Financial Post reported in February. SNC and its subsidiaries SNC- Lavalin Construction Inc. and SNC- Lavalin International Inc. are also alleged to have defrauded various Libyan public agencies of approxi- mately $129.8 million. The bridge project is expected to open in December 2018. Regarding the corruption charges, federal infrastructure minister Denis Lebel reportedly said: “We had a rigor- ous verification. We work with facts, not accusations.” The project is expected to create 30,000 jobs. Broccolini announced in April suc- cess in winning a contract for the de- sign, construction, and leasing of a large-scale office building in Mi- ramichi, New Brunswick for the De- partment of Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC). Broccolini will design and build a three-storey LEED Gold certified office project with a gross constructible area of 132,000 sq. ft. The building will in- clude 114,000 sq. ft. of Class A office space. Construction is set to begin in June 2015 and will span over approximately 2.5 years. When complete, the build- ing will be entirely leased to PWGSC for a period of no less than 20 years. Broccolini has previously served as design-builder for two PWGSC LEED Gold certified buildings including the 484,000 sq. ft. 22 Eddy office tower project and the 690,000 sq. ft. 455 de la Carrière project, both in Gatineau, Quebec. City of Fredericton to cancel paving project due to budget issue The City of Fredericton has can- celed one of its 2015 paving projects in order to meet its resurfacing pro- gram budget, reports The Daily Gleaner. According to the news report, Hogan Paving Ltd.’s asphalt tender of $2.36 million was significantly higher than the engineer’s $2.18 million esti- mate. Finance committee chair Bruce Grandy told the city council that New Brunswick’s large capital budget had created a lot of work for paving com- panies, increasing the price of asphalt. NOVA SCOTIA Construction leaders graduate CANS/ Dalhousie program The first cohort of the Executive Certificate in Construction Leadership graduated April 9, reports Daily Busi- ness Buzz. The 15-course development pro- gram was the result of a partnership between the Construction Association of Nova Scotia (CANS) and Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Management’s Executive Education. The cohort-based program was de- livered through a blend of face-to-face learning, pre-course work, and a vari- ety of learning methods such as group activities, open discussions and prac- tical applied exercises. $60M to be spent on harbour improvements Sixty-million dollars will be spent on 48 harbour improvements over the next two years in Nova Scotia, accord- ing to Peter MacKay, Nova Scotia MP and federal cabinet minister. A recent news release provides de- tails on 17 of the 48 projects. That por- tion will cost approximately $20 million and includes harbours in Pictou, Kings County, Guysborough County and across Cape Breton, CBC News re- ports. The federal government said up- grades "will provide a safer and more efficient working environment for har- bour users and local fishermen." NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR Skills Canada competitions in welding, sheet metal work held in Burin On April 10, the Skills Canada provincial competitions in welding and sheet metal work was held at the Col- lege of the North Atlantic campus in Burin, Newfoundland and Labrador. Students from the Corner Brook and Labrador West campuses joined students from Burin campus to demonstrate skills they have learned in the welding program, Southern Gazette reports. The first place winner from each area will go on to join Team Newfound- land and Labrador to represent the province at the national competition in May. The Canadian Design and Construction Report — April-May 2015 – 17