The government of Nova Scotia, a province of eastern Canada, has announced that it has prequalified three bidding teams for the Highway 104 twinning P3 project. 

Atlantic Safelink Partners, Dexter Nova Alliance and Osprey Transportation Solutions have qualified to bid for the project, which involves the construction of a 38km four-lane divided highway corridor to replace an existing two-lane section of Highway 104 between Sutherlands River and Antigonish, located in the north of the province. 

A Request for Proposals (RFP) will be issued to the three successful teams in the coming weeks. The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal expects to announce the winner in early 2020. 

The selected private partner will assume responsibility for designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining the highway section. They will also operate and maintain 9.3km of existing divided highway between East River Road New Glasgow and Exit 27, and the 16km Antigonish bypass.

The project is estimated to cost CAD195 million (US$146.8 million). CAD90 million (US$67.7 million) will be funded by the federal government. Bucking a trend in similar road P3 projects, the Department has opted not to use a user-pays mechanism to compensate the private partner. The prequalification announcement reaffirms that it is not considering the implementation of any tolls to finance the project.

Construction works are expected to be completed by the end of 2023. The private partner will operate and maintain the road assets for a further 20 years.