CHUM Awarded Two Prestigious Prizes

MONTREAL, March 6, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Project Finance International presented awards at the acclaimed Deals of the Year Awards ceremony in New York last week to the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), the Collectif Santé Montréal, Infrastructure Québec, Dalkia, Innisfree, Laing O'Rourke, OHL and the Royal Bank of Canada for their funding of the New CHUM construction project.

In addition to receiving the North American Project Bond Deal of the Year 2011 Award for its bond issue, the new hospital centre project won this event's top prize—the Overall North America Project Finance Deal of the Year 2011 Grand Jury Award.

Bond financing for the new hospital's construction project is the largest PPP hospital venture in Canada's history. CHUM's partner, the Collectif Santé Montréal, which is responsible for project design, construction, financing and maintenance, raised $1.37 billion through the sale of secured bonds.

CHUM's Executive Director and CEO, Christian Paire, said he is "proud that a project like CHUM's received such distinguished recognition. This is due," he added, "to the project's excellence and of course to the expertise of our partners, the Collectif Santé Montréal, the Royal Bank of Canada, Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, McCarthy Tétrault, Investec, Blake Cassels & Graydon, Fasken Martineau, Heenan Blaikie, Infrastructure Québec, and the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux."

The project is one component of a Care, Education and Research Centre of Excellence to be built in Montréal's future Health District. The hospital, which will become operational in the spring of 2016, will have 772 beds, contain over 268,000 square metres of space and endow university medicine with ultramodern facilities.

About the Collectif Santé Montréal
The Collectif Santé Montréal is a consortium consisting of Innisfree Canada Ltd., Obrascon Huarte Lain, S.A. (OHL), Laing O'Rourke Corporation Ltd. (Laing O'Rourke) and Dalkia Canada Inc. Its mission is to design, build, finance and maintain the future CHUM. Two separate project construction phases will take place over a nine-year period, starting in 2011. Operating under the name Construction Santé Montréal Construction, contractors Laing O'Rourke and OHL are drawing on the experience of many major regional and international subcontractors, such as Cannon Design (Canada) and DCYSA (Montreal) architects, HH Angus, Pasquin St-Jean, Roche and Groupe SM engineers and Montréal construction firms EBC and Magil. Once construction has been completed, Dalkia Canada Inc. will be responsible for CHUM's maintenance over a 30-year period.

About CHUM
The Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) is the largest French-language teaching hospital in North America. Acclaimed for the excellent care it provides and the vast experience of its specialists, CHUM receives over half a million patients annually from Greater Montreal and throughout Quebec. CHUM applies innovative approaches to healthcare, research, health promotion and the knowledge transfer process. Backed by a solid legacy, CHUM is preparing for the future with ongoing construction of new facilities and a research centre in downtown Montreal. This all-inclusive project in a single venue is valued at some $2.5 billion. The CHUM Research Centre will open its doors in 2013. The new CHUM, a world-class teaching hospital geared to the needs of a community in which it plays a major role, will be inaugurated in 2016. CHUM seeks to maintain a socially aware perspective of sustainable development and a coordinated approach to urban planning. CHUM is also an active member of the Réseau universitaire intégré de santé (RUIS) de l'Université de Montréal. nouveauchum.com

For further information:

Sources: 
Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)
Collectif Santé Montréal

FFI:  
Lucie Dufresne
Communications Adviser
Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM)
Tel.: [phone], ext. 15380
Pager: 514-860-7110