Joint Use Mutual Partnership consortium has reached financial close for the Saskatchewan Joint Use Schools PPP projects in Canada.

Joint Use Mutual Partnership was selected as the preferred proponent in June 2015. The consortium includes the following companies:

• Concert Infrastructure Ltd.
• Bird Capital Limited Partnership / Bird Design"Build Construction Inc.
• Wright Construction Western Inc.
• Kindrachuck Agrey Architecture
• GEC Architecture
• Johnson Controls Canada LP
• Scotiabank

These two projects will cumulatively entail the construction of 18 elementary schools on nine joint use sites that will ultimately serve more than 11,000 prekindergarten to grade 8 students in the communities of Regina, Saskatoon, Warman and Martensville.

The schools will be owned and operated by their respective school divisions and completed as a public-private partnership under a 30 year design-build-finance-maintain contract. Joint Use Mutual Partnership will work closely alongside the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, SaskBuilds Corporation and other stakeholders during the process.

In total, the government will invest CAD$635 million in today's dollars over the life of the contract, which includes: construction-related costs; cost of maintenance over 30 years; and cost of rehabilitation to keep the schools in like-new condition.

Construction has already commenced through an early works agreement for each project, with completion slated for the 2017 school year.

David Podmore, Concert Infrastructure Ltd.'s Chairman & CEO, stated:

"Concert is excited to be working with the government of Saskatchewan to deliver these critically-needed schools to their growing communities. Each and every one of our staff, as well as the 200,000 Canadians represented by the union and employer pension plans who own our company, are extremely proud to be bringing the largest school construction project in Saskatchewan to life. In the process we are continuing Concert's legacy as a community builder."