The federal department awarded PCL Constructors Canada a $15-million sole-sourced contract to build a temporary boiler plant adjacent to the Cliff Plant, in the parking lot beside the Supreme Court, says Public Works spokesperson Nathalie Betote Akwa.
Four supplementary boilers will be installed, which will become the primary heat source for the 50,000 employees in the 52 buildings serviced by the Cliff Plant distribution system.
The plant will have a capacity of 300,000 pounds of steam per hour, the same as the Cliff Plant.
There are currently three temporary boilers in operation at the Gatineau plant. Installation of three additional temporary boilers is almost complete.
As part of its contract, PCL is renting boilers and related ancillary equipment for $300,000 a month from Wabash Power Equipment Co., which is based in Wheeling, IL, according to the latter company's website.
Public Works is still investigating the Oct. 19 explosion, which killed an engineer. Clean-up efforts are expected to continue until next spring, when the department can fully assess what repairs are required.
The department said in a statement that it plans to continue using outside engineering firms to compliment its own resources in recovering the lost plant capacity.
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