NEWS BRIEFS draft. The harbour is free of bridges or obstructions over approaches. PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Government reveals $78 million capital budget for 2016-17 PEI’s government has proposed a “live within our means” $78 million capital construction and infrastructure budget for 2016-17, Finance Minister Allen Roach said in December. Budget highlights include: • $30 million for transportation; • $21 million for Health PEI; and • $15 million to education. “By investing in our capital infra- structure, we can help ensure that promises made to islanders are imple- mented in a timely manner,” Roach said. The transportation money will go to the further realignment of the Trans- Canada Highway and improvements to key intersections, as well as realigning Highway 2 in Mount Mellick, and $5.5 million for bridge replacement, CBC has reported. Health PEI’s $21 million will pay for the new Riverview Manor in Mon- tague, a new long-term care facility in Tyne Valley, and $10 million for a new linear accelerator at the Cancer Treat- ment Centre, a two-year project Roach said he expects will start next year. Roach said government has allo- cated more than $9 million for school construction, including the new École la Belle Cloche in Souris and renova- tions to Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. CONSTRUCTION ACROSS CANADA The government says it will spend $150,000 this year and in subsequent years to repair provincially owned sites “to preserve our museums and her- itage sites for future generations,” Roach said, and is prepared to add more spending when Ottawa releases the details of its infrastructure pro- grams. NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR Tom Hinkman dies at 74 Prominent Newfoundland business- man and construction industry entre- preneur Tom Hickman died in December at the age of 74. He was president of Newfoundland Engineering and Construction Com- pany and founded the Marco Group of Companies in 1979. His company is responsible for many prominent buildings in Atlantic Canada, including the INCO Innovation Centre. Muskrat Falls contractor failing, but Emera says work continues Construction of transmission lines needed for the $6.99 billion Muskrat Falls project is continuing, even though the main contractor is on the verge of bankruptcy. An Emera Inc. spokesperson says the company is monitoring the situa- tion with Abengoa S.A., although it hasn’t had an impact on the Labrador hydro development. “Abengoa has begun erecting poles for grounding lines. That work is con- tinuing,” Neera Ritcey said in an inter- view with the Chronicle Herald. 30 – January 2016 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report Abengoa, a Spanish energy con- glomerate, has filed for creditor pro- tection in that country. It is one of three main contractors on the project, with a US$ 155 million contract awarded in March by Emera New- foundland and Labrador. Spanish law gives the company four months to hammer out a deal with creditors, according to Reuters. The company has US$9.5 billion in debt and is trying to find additional in- vestment, the report said. If Abengoa goes under, it would be the largest cor- porate bankruptcy in Spain’s history, Reuters said. The Emera subsidiary is overseeing construction of the new transmission lines, including the $1.55 billion Mar- itime Link. The subsea cable, slated to be operational in late 2017, will span the Cabot Strait. The Abengoa project involves build- ing more than 400 km. of overhead power lines between Granite Canal, NL and Big Lorraine, Cape Breton. Ritcey said there are provisions in the contract to protect ratepayers, suppliers and Emera, although she wouldn’t say what they are. “While we can’t discuss the details of that, we’re confident that those will allow the work to continue,” the spokeswoman said. Early civil construction is completed for converter station sites in the two provinces, she said. ABB Canada of Montreal will build the transmission compounds, converter stations and substations. Right of way clearing has also been finished for four of the project’s five transmission lines.