The request for qualifications, published on contracting website Merx, outlines the evaluation criteria that will be used to develop a short list of bidders for the project, according to a memo sent to city councillors.
It says respondents must have successfully designed, managed, constructed and maintained a light-rail system similar in size and scope to Ottawa’s project.
Bombardier and Siemens, which won the contract for the city’s ultimately aborted north-south line, are among the firms expected to submit a bid.
Companies have until September to respond to the RFQ. A list of qualified firms will be published the following month.
Those companies will then have nine months to respond to the full request for proposals. A final contract is expected to be signed by December 2012. Construction is planned to take five years.
Earlier this year, city council approved a plan to accelerate the timeline for building the 12.5-kilometre light-rail line by asking the private sector to play a greater role in the project.
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