OTTAWA, Ont. – The Rideau Transit Group, a consortium led by A.C.S. Infrastructure Canada, has won the bid to build the first phase of Ottawa’s $2.1-billion, 12.5 km light rail transit system.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and Ottawa-Orleans M.P. Royal Galipeau were on hand for the meeting at Ottawa City Hall Wednesday morning.

A.C.S Infrastructure is based out of Spain and would lead a consortium of builders including Ellis Don, Veolia Transportation, S.N.C. Lavalin and several others.

The company has to work within the borders of a $2.1-billion price tag and the city expects the project to come in below that.  
Not everyone agrees.

“Massive infrastructure projects like this rarely hit the financial mark,” said Ian Lee at the Sprott School of Business. “Invariably they come in over budget, on average in the literature I have looked at, around 30 per cent.”

The winning bid is reportedly a fixed bid, which means the A.C.S. would be on the hook for any cost overruns.

“Costs will be monitored closely,” said Ottawa City Councillor Stephen Blais. “The challenge given to the light rail team was to bring this plan on time but also on the original budget of $2.1-billion. We had to shave off several hundred million dollars for installation.”

The contract for the 12.5 km transit system still needs council approval this month. The city will unveil the plan to the public through a series of open houses running through December 19. Council will review the plan on December 12, with a vote set for December 19.

If approved, the city hopes to have shovels in the ground in early 2013.

The two losing bids went home with $2-million each for entering the competition, but taxpayers will never see what they had to offer.