Not surprisingly, during its first round of competition for funding in September 2009, PPP Canada received 20 applications from various provincial and territorial governments. By the time PPP Canada closed the second competition in June 2010, it had received 73 proposals for projects in 11 provinces and territories.
"We had an overwhelming response," says McBride.
At stake is a commitment of up to 25 percent of the value of a project's direct capital costs from the PPP Canada fund. "In some cases, we're contributing less if that's not required to make the project go," McBride says.
The goal isn't to supplant municipal and provincial money but instead to leverage it by a factor of three-to-one. "If we're putting in 25 percent and they're putting in 75 percent," reasons McBride, "that will multiply" PPP Canada's $1.257 billion to $5 billion.
Take the Chief Peguis Trail in Winnipeg, Manitoba. due to lack of necessary funds, Winnipeg originally designed the four-kilometre road extension without an underpass, which had been fagged by the local community as a priority due to safety concerns. But in July 2010, PPP Canada unveiled a $25 million commitment for Chief Peguis Trail from the first round of funding from its PPP fund.
"They're driving on the road, they're going to the hospital and actually the hospital works. It's better" |
"With their funding, we were able to do the underpass," said Michael Ruta, chief financial officer of the city of Winnipeg. Winnipeg will contribute $74 million toward the project and Manitoba will chip in up to $9 million.
"We are leveraging $83 million of other jurisdictions' money," says McBride. And that's precisely how, "as a minimum", he hopes to achieve the three-to-one leverage on PPP Canada's $1.257 billion.
A total of $100 million has already been committed from the fund. And by the middle of next year he expects to be "approaching $300 million committed".