Minister divulges details on mill demolition

Request for proposal deadline is July 25

Over five years after the former Abitibi-Bowater papermillin Grand Falls-Windsor produced its last roll of newsprint the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has the ball rolling for its demolition.

TCMedia File Photo

The process for the demolition of the former Abitibi-Bowater mill in Grand Falls-Windsor is underway.

The papermillceased production in 2009 and was expropriated by the province. In late 2012 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in favour of Abitibi Bowater when it decided the province was responsible for the remediation of the facility. Funds for themill's demolition were included in this year's provincial budget.

Though information has been sparse, it was confirmed in May the request for proposals was out. This week, Transportation and Works Minister Nick McGrath spoke with The Advertiser and divulged more details about the process.

Though there is no timeline in place yet on when the physical work will start on the structure, McGrath said the deadline for proposals is July 25. He said by late summer or early autumn, the province should be in a position to select a proponent and move forward with the work.

"What I'd ask my senior officials, I would certainly want to have it expedited and get this process started because it's been going on long enough," McGrath said.

Because the request for proposal process is still ongoing, McGrath could not offer any information about the number of applicants they've received so far, or potential cost.

"The whole idea of an RFP rather than a tender is that we didn't want to be restricted to price only here. With tenders...you have to go with the lowest bidder unless there's a reason not to. With an RFP you take other factors into consideration."

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Minister divulges details on mill demolition