Wataynikaneyap Power has selected Valard Construction for providing engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) solutions for the Wataynikaneyap Transmission Project (Watay Project) in Northwestern Ontario, Canada.

Valard is an operating subsidiary of the US-based electric power infrastructure solutions provider Quanta Services.

Regulated by the Ontario Energy Board, Wataynikaneyap Power is a licensed transmission company, the majority of which is owned by a consortium of 24 First Nation communities in partnership with Fortis and other investors.

Valard will design, procure materials and equipment for the project. It will also build 1,800km transmission and distribution infrastructure that pertain to Phase 1 and 2 of the Watay Project. The work will also see the installation of 22 substations.

Quanta Services president and CEO Duke Austin said: “Quanta has successfully and safely engineered and constructed some of the largest electric transmission projects in Canada, and we are pleased to provide our industry-leading electric infrastructure EPC solutions for this project.

“We are confident that our collaborative process will provide significant benefits to the communities this project is designed to serve, and we appreciate Wataynikaneyap Power’s confidence in our ability to safely execute on such an important project.”

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Watay Project is expected to be completed by 2023. Upon completion, it is expected to become one of the largest electric infrastructure projects designed to connect remote societies in Ontario to the provincial transmission grid.

The company noted that pre-construction works will commence immediately, with construction works expected to begin in the first quarter of 2020.