News release

Contracts Awarded for Seven New Schools

Education (July 1999 - March 2013)

Construction of seven new schools across Nova Scotia will begin immediately after the province awarded tenders today to two private contractors.

Education Minister Jane Purves and Ron Russell, Minister of Transportation and Public Works, announced today that contracts were awarded to B.D. Stevens Ltd. and Rideau Construction to build seven new facilities by September 2001.

"We plan to have students in the classroom at these schools next fall," said Ms. Purves. "We've been working with school boards and communities to proceed as quickly as possible."

Earlier this year, the province announced plans to build 16 schools across Nova Scotia by 2004. School construction is managed jointly by the departments of Education and Transportation and Public Works.

The new school construction process limits the participation of private partners to design and construction, rather than ownership, of Nova Scotia's schools. Unlike those built under the former P-3 process, the next 16 schools will be publicly owned.

The private contractors have agreed to design and build the seven schools in 2000-01 for a total of $54,393,000:

  • B.D. Stevens will build three schools in southwestern Nova Scotia for $23,289,000, including Argyle School, Clare School and Ecole Ste. Anne de Ruisseau
  • Rideau Construction will build four schools for $31,104,000, including Chedabucto Place (Guysborough), Ecole Pomquet, Elmsdale School, and Whycocomagh Education Centre

The design and construction costs are well within the government's $66,900,000 budget for the projects. The additional $12 million covers land purchases, furniture, equipment and project administration.

As part of the government's new school construction process, school boards and communities members were involved in selecting sites for the projects in their areas. Sites chosen met the educational needs of the school population and were cost- efficient to buy and develop.

"The planning for these projects has been done up front -- before the contracts were signed," said Mr. Russell. "Construction sites have already been evaluated, selected, and purchased. There should be no surprises at the end of this process."

Five companies qualified over the summer to submit tenders on the projects. B.D. Stevens Ltd. and Rideau Construction were the successful bidders.

The Government of Nova Scotia's school construction process will deliver 16 new schools over the next four years at an estimated cost of $191 million.