July 11, 2007

VINCE VERSACE

Work continues on the $1 billion Goreway Station construction site which employs 800 workers and 47 sub-contractors on the project. When completed, this will be first new major power plant built in Ontario in past 25 years.

Industrial

Electrifying project shocks all

Communication key to keeping Goreway online

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

A key to tracking the beehive of activity at the Goreway Station build, one of Ontario’s biggest construction projects, is constant communication, says the site’s construction manager.

“This is the Rolls Royce of power plants,” says Mike White, SNC-Lavalin Power Ontario construction manager. “The co-operation among all the trades has been fantastic.”

The Goreway Station is the first new major power station built in Ontario over the last 25 years. SNC-Lavlin is carrying out the engineering, procurement and construction of the plant which has a $1 billion price tag. The 875 MW plant will be Canada’s largest combined cycle power station, fuelled by natural gas. When it is completed and running at full capacity, it will meet the power needs of over 330,000 homes. Sithe Global Power was chosen by the Ontario Power Authority and the Ontario government to build the plant.

“Working on a project like this is fun,” says White. “It is a large site with overlap between the sub-contractors. Site scheduling and coordination is a daily adventure.”

VINCE VERSACE

Fixtures await to be raised to the ceiling of the air condensing complex at the Goreway Station plant. There will be 35 fans mounted to help cool off steam exhaust created during the power generation process.

There are 47 sub-contractors on the 20 hectare site in Brampton. Only 21 per cent of the site will actually be occupied by the plant when it is completed.

The project employs 800 workers from numerous construction trades. The site has become a model for inter-related building in the eyes of the Ministry of Labour, says White. The labour ministry has begun sending some of its newcomers for training at the site to learn about all the trades and construction.

“It is like a big jig-saw puzzle and we do six-week lookouts to see where we are going,” adds White. “There is a huge scope of work here with a lot of overlap.”

Each day of work can move the project forward by three to four per cent. The plant was expected to provide “simple cycle” power this June but the bankruptcy of one of SNC’s key equipment suppliers caused a delay in the rollout of that phase.

The recent three-week labourers’ strike also closed things down for seven days due to to jobsite work conditions. The strike put the project about a month behind schedule. Completion of the plant is still targeted for the end of 2008.

Health and safety training and reporting plays a major role daily, says White.

Goreway hosted a Hong Kong government delegation this past April which focused on health and safety and the construction process. When the representatives were asked why they chose Ontario and this particular project, the answer was that they wanted to “see the best.”

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