Both the City of Ottawa and Infrastructure Ontario will evaluate the proposals and recommend a preferred proponent to city council. Approval is scheduled for the end of this year.
If the schedule holds, light rail construction will commence in early 2013 and be ready for full service in 2018.
The 12.5-kilometre, 13-station line is expected to cost $2.1 billion. Widely expected to be the largest infrastructure construction in Ottawa's history, the city estimates there will be $3.2 billion of local economic activity as a result of the project.
The three consortia are Ottawa Transit Partners (led by Vinci Concessions), Rideau Transit Group (led by ACS Infrastructure Canada) and Rideau Transit Partners (led by Bouygues Travaux Publics).
Although the line is not fully determined, properties lying nearby the proposed line are already rising in value, local observers have said. However, developers are holding off on the actual construction of high-density buildings to keep an eye on demand for office space and condos.
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