(Quebec) The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) will invest at least 1 billion in the Quebec City tramway project, which the government officially entrusted it with carrying out on Wednesday.
The nest egg of Quebecers is expected to become a minority owner “of the order of 20% to 30%” of the project whose total cost is now estimated at 5.27 billion.
This is what we learn when reading the “mandate letter” sent to the CDPQ and made public by the office of the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, on Wednesday.
This new step allows CDPQ Infra, the real estate subsidiary of the Caisse, to implement several measures for the next stages of the realization of the tramway project. In particular, “retain the services of professionals and suppliers that it deems useful to support it during this mandate”, specifies the press release of this announcement.
However, a new agreement must be concluded between Quebec and CDPQ Infra by December 15 in order to establish the new responsibilities of the subsidiary and the work schedule, in particular.
This is a tight deadline, especially since a bill must be tabled and adopted by then, according to what Quebec indicates.
How to achieve profitability?
The final amount of the Fund’s investment will also be fixed during these discussions, Geneviève Guilbault said at a press briefing.
As for the future operator of the tram network, “for us, it goes without saying that it will be the RTC [Réseau de transport de la Capitale] », indicated the minister.
The latter recognized that the mission of the CDPQ is to make a profit, but did not want to comment on the means that the institution could take to make its future investment in the tram project profitable. “These are things that are currently being discussed […] “, she said.
Quebec announced on June 13 that it would give the green light to the first phase of the CITÉ plan, a vast mobility project for the capital concocted by the Caisse at its request. This first stage consists of 19 km of tram lines making up the central corridor of the project and an antenna towards the district of Charlesbourg.
The entire CITÉ plan is estimated at approximately 15.48 billion and 95.8 km of new corridors dedicated to public transport.
With Tommy Chouinard, The Press
What they said:
I am delighted that the Quebec government is confirming with this gesture the completion of the CITÉ Plan. This is an essential project for the Quebec region in a context of very strong demographic growth. We cannot wage an effective war on congestion without investing in the development of public transport.
Bruno Marchand, mayor of Quebec
This deadline of December 15, for me, is the minister’s hand on the plogue. It retains the possibility of pulling the thread at any time. It’s worrying. We will push it so that there is a real, more definitive agreement by December 15.
Étienne Grandmont, MP for Taschereau and spokesperson for Québec solidaire on transport matters
The news we have today is quite limited. We are told that the agreement has not yet been signed and will have to be signed in two months. We are still being told of deadlines even though we have been planning this project for six years. […] Nothing has yet been finalized regarding financing.
Pascal Paradis, Parti Québécois MP in Jean-Talon