MONTREAL - A Quebec government contract worth $3 billion has engineering firms flocking to the city.
Construction companies from Spain, Italy and of course, Quebec, are among the 37 firms bidding on the Turcot Interchange project.
The deteriorating intertwined roadways hovering overhead St-Henri are to be replaced by 2018 and the work should start soon after the winner is announced in 2013.
The province will be choosing three contractors, and with the big contract goes big responsibility; the winner will face giant fines if the project fails to be completed on time.
The winning bidders won't only have the job of building the massive structure. They'll also have to create designs, manage traffic, demolish the interchange, obtain permits and co-ordinate the staggering project.
One Spanish company hopes to grab the contract as a foothold into further Canadian work.
"We are in 14 countries, and we have a nice presence in United States and we are trying to start some work in Canada, so we'll see," said Juan Carlos de Miguel of IDOM.
An Italian firm is also hoping to grab the prize, as Fabrizio De Rossi of Astaldi was impressed by the size of the job as he looked at the current structure on the way from the airport Tuesday.
Local companies, including such as Simard-Beaudry and SNC-Lavalin, are also submitting bids..
"This project has a very high visibility, very high profile, definitely it will be very important for a company of our size," said Walid Asha of SNC-Lavalin.
