$5.2 billion for the 2016-2018 Three-Year Capital Works Program - Montréal remains focused on modernizing its assets

MONTRÉAL, Oct. 21, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Mayor Denis Coderre and Pierre Desrochers, chairman of the city's executive committee, presented the city's 2016-2018 Three-Year Capital Works Program. The Three-Year Capital Works Program is composed of investment programs and projects that the city intends to undertake or achieve over the next three years. The new Three-Year Capital Works Program calls for investments of $5,240 million over the next three years, an increase of more than $678 million (15%), compared with the investment of $4,562 million in the 20152017 Three-Year Capital Works Program.

"This Three-Year Capital Works Program, my administration's second, is based on the key orientations of the 20152024 Montréal Capital Investment Program that we implemented last year. The Montréal Capital Investment Program has a 10-year plan to accelerate investments in order to meet the city's investment needs as quickly as possible, especially its aging infrastructures. With this Three-Year Capital Works Program, we will remain focused on modernizing our assets and achieving new projects, while supporting the boroughs with considerable investments," said Mayor Coderre.  

Major investments

The Three-Year Capital Works Program 2016-2018 calls for total investments of $5,240 million:

• $1,590 million in 2016
• $1,725 million in 2017
• $1,925 million in 2018

The portion of the budget under city council's control is 53.8%, for a total of $2,819.6 million. The portion of the budget under the urban agglomeration council's control is 46.2% of total investments, or $2,420.3 million.

These investments are divided as follows:

• Protecting and renovating elements of existing assets: $4,009 million (76.5%)
• Developing infrastructures: $1,231 million (23.5%)

"This Three-Year Capital Works Program sticks to the city's long-term orientations that consist of allocating 75% of the Three-Year Capital Works Program to asset sustainability and 25% to building new amenities. More than 56% of investments are related to road and underground infrastructures. We must be able to fund this increase without putting the city's finances in danger. This is why our 10-year plan calls for an annual increase in cash payments of capital assets. This increase makes it possible to maintain loans as set out by the city's debt management policy," explained Desrochers.

Increased investments for the 20162018 Three-Year Capital Works Program can primarily be explained by the increase in investments to protect and renovate elements of existing assets ($4,009 million, compared to $3,323 million for the 20152017 Three-Year Capital Works Program). The acceleration of investments is made possible thanks to continued application of measures implemented in the previous Three-Year Capital Works Program.

Investments by categories of assets

Here is the division of investments by categories of assets in the Three-Year Capital Works Program 2016-2018 and their equivalents in terms of percentages:

Road infrastructures: $1,457 million: 27.8%

• Environment and underground infrastructures: $1,493 million: 28.5%
• Buildings: $1,097 million: 20.9%
• Parks, green spaces and playing fields: $662 million - 12.6%
• Furnishings and office equipment: $256 million: 4.9%
• Vehicles: $115 million: 2.2%
• Lots: $59 million: 1.1%
• Machinery, specialized tools and equipment: $26 million: 0.5%
• Other assets: $75 million: 1.5%

Investment growth is highest for asset categories related to buildings (+$253.4 million); the environment and underground infrastructures (+$186.9 million); parks, green spaces and playing fields (+$167.2 million) and road infrastructures (+$98.7 million).

Main programs and projects, 2016-2018 Three-Year Capital Works Program

• Repair of traffic arteries: $258 million
• Repair of local roads, in addition to borough efforts: $180 million
• Supplementary road levelling and surfacing program that aims to quickly improve road quality:  $170 million
• Repair of road structures, in order to ensure their safety and continuity: $61.9 million
• Upgrading street lighting: $50 million
• Development of the bike path network, aiming to develop 50 km of bike paths each year: $45 million
• Renovation work on major traffic arteries:
  • Renovation for the redevelopment of Complexe Turcot: $30.9 million
  • Redevelopment of Plaza St-Hubert: $25.8 million
  • Redevelopment of Avenue Papineau, between De Louvain Est and Boulevard Crémazie: $25.7 million
  • Connection of Boulevard Cavendish: $13.5 million
  • Redevelopment of the Rue Sherbrooke Est area: $4.5 million
• Investments for water infrastructures, for a total of $1,247.3 million, namely:
  • $463 million for the secondary water main and sewer network renovation program
  • $166.3 for the ozone wastewater disinfection project  
  • $119.7 for projects to modernize six drinking water production plants (Atwater, Des Baillets, Dorval, Lachine, Pierrefonds and Pointe-Claire)
  • $75 million for the Rosemont and Dollard-Des Ormeaux reservoirs and pumping stations
  • $71.7 million for work on the Rockfield, William, Lavigne, Leduc and Marc-Aurèle-Fortin retention structures
  • $67.8 million for work on the network of primary water lines
• Continuing infrastructure work to promote private investments and urban reclassification of several neighbourhoods:
  • Support for the Outremont Campus project and its surroundings, a project that will include a university district and that will strengthen Montréal's role as a city of knowledge: $74.5 million
  • Consolidation of efforts in the Griffintown area: $46.5 million
  • Urban reclassification of the Namur–Jean-Talon Ouest area: $30.4 million
• Upgrading borough service courses in order to harmonize services across Montréal and improve services to residents: $155.7 million
• Developing and building five residual material processing infrastructures (two biomethanization processing centres, two composting centres and a pilot pre-processing center) which will begin operating in 2019 to 2024: $126.9 million
• Protection and reconstruction of property assets of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and the Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal (SSIM): $97.3 million
• Bringing municipal arenas up to standard in support of the boroughs: $77.3 million
• Implementing the "Montréal, Smart and Digital City Strategy": $48.6 million

Other Smart City investments:

• $7.6 million for a program for transportation systems that use new technologies
• $3.3 million to implement a dynamic parking system to optimize the main underground parking lots
• Completion of the last phase of the Quartier des spectacles, the development of Esplanade Clark: $46.9 million
• Continuing projects and programs related to the 2013-2025 Montréal Aquatic Intervention Plan: $30.2 million
• Continuing redevelopment of Square Dorchester and Place du Canada: $25.2 million
• Implementing a renovation program for Montréal's ball parks that aims to, in collaboration with the boroughs, make functional improvements to ball parks and bring them up to standard: $13 million
• Continuing efforts to promote the creation of social and community housing, primarily through infrastructure investments: $8 million

Montréal's 375th anniversary legacy

• With a view to the celebrations of the 375th anniversary of Montréal's founding, in 2017, the 2016-2018 Three-Year Capital Works Program calls for an investment budget of $329 million to carry out a number of unifying projects that will leave material legacies for Montréal residents.
• Development of Parc Jean-Drapeau as a unique urban park, strengthening its vocation as an international-calibre recreational and tourist destination: $66.6 million
• Redevelopment of Rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, from Mansfield to De Bleury: $48.5 million
• Development of urban walkways from the mountain to the river: $35.8 million
• Redevelopment of the Bonaventure Expressway, creating a user-friendly and prestigious entrance to downtown:  $33.3 million,
• Reclassification of the area around the Ville-Marie Expressway (creating an identity-forming public space in the area around the Champ-de-Mars metro station) and redevelopment of Place Vauquelin: $30.5 million
• Redevelopment of part of an urban park at the Complexe environnemental de Saint-Michel (whose 153 hectares will be completely accessible to the public in 10 years): $29.2 million
• Redevelopment of Square Viger, which aims to provide access to Montréal's first public square for all Montrealers: $28 million
• Renewal of the Biodôme experience: $18.7 million
• Expansion of the Pointe-à-Callière Museum (phase 2 of the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex – enhancement of the vestiges of Fort Ville-Marie and Callière's residence): $17.9 million
• Activities for the boroughs as part of Montréal's 375th anniversary: $7.5 million
• Redevelopment of the crossroads of Pie-IX–Sherbrooke (creating a new park that will be home to the artwork offered by Québec City for Montréal's 375th anniversary): $6.9 million
• Implementing the Mount Royal Discovery Stopovers: $5.5 million

Achievement rate
The city wants to reiterate its desire to increase the achievement percentage of the investments called for in the Three-Year Capital Works Plan. This objective is one of the municipal administration's greatest priorities for 2016. It aims to increase investments in 2016 from 2015 while ensuring that projects are carried out at the lowest cost.

From 2007 to 2013, an average of $730 million was invested. In 2014, completed projects increased by 15% for the first time as compared to the previous five years. Currently, in 2015, a 4% increase in completed projects is expected despite tender costs, which have decreased by 10% since 2014. Completed projects increased once again in 2015.

Investments for the boroughs
Investments for the boroughs increased from $374 million in the last Three-Year Capital Works Program to $459 million for the 20162018 Three-Year Capital Works Program, an increase of 23%. Corporate budgets in the 20162018 Three-Year Capital Works Program call for $682 million for support projects and programs for the boroughs, bringing total investments for the boroughs to $1,141 million, including $74.7 million earmarked for the Montréal urban agglomeration in Ville-Marie. Highlights of the main investments in the boroughs can be found in the city's second press release.

All documents concerning the 2016-2018 Three-Year Capital Works Program are available on the city's Web site: www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/english.

SOURCE Ville de Montréal - Cabinet du maire et du comité exécutif

For further information: Catherine Maurice, Attachée de presse, Cabinet du maire et du comité exécutif, 514 346-7598; Gonzalo Nuñez, Relationniste, Service des communications, 514 868-1127