A CHANGED MARKET

Indeed, after the deal closed - with six banks providing $471 million of long-term financing, according to lending database II Assets - financial conditions became so bad that Alberta had to scale back ambitions for phase two of its schools project. The province wanted to tender another 14 schools under a similar PPP arrangement. But "we were getting advice at the time, the fall of 2008, that we could have a difficulty getting adequate financing because of the crisis," Gibson recalls. "So we reduced the size of the project and took out four high schools."

The four high schools proceeded as a design-build, and the ten elementary and middle schools proceeded under a PPP. Earlier this year, a consortium led by German developer Hochtief PPP Solutions won the $253 million contract for the PPP, which is estimated to save Alberta taxpayers another $105 million.

Thanks to the two PPPs, just as 18 new schools opened up in Edmonton and Calgary to their first students in 2010, another ten were already under construction, scheduled for completion in 2012. So the province will end up getting its schools faster and for less - with no difference in the quality of instruction.

"We do not provide any education services at all. That's in the hands of the school boards," explains Stefan Parche, president of Amber Infrastructure's North American operations. "So the actual user will not notice any difference between a PPP school and any other school."

"Both procurements were really, really successful," Gibson says.