Atco In JV For LNG Canada Housing Project

Alberta-based Atco Ltd. said December 3 it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Bird Construction to design, engineer and build a 4,500-bed workforce accommodation centre for the Anglo-Dutch Shell-led LNG Canada project in Kitimat, BC.

The facility, which will be known as Cedar Valley Lodge, is being built to house workers involved in the construction of LNG Canada’s 14mn metric tons/year liquefaction terminal. It will be one of the largest workforce accommodation facilities ever built in Canada, Atco said. 

The Bird-Atco joint venture will execute a modular supply contract for the facility through a joint venture between Atco and Haisla Nation, on whose traditional territory the LNG plant will be built, that has been in place since 2011. Site preparation (pictured in banner above), design and engineering for the project is currently underway, with construction expected to begin in the spring of 2019.

Bird Construction had originally joint ventured with workforce housing developer Civeo in 2015 to pursue the Cedar Valley Lodge project, and in May 2016 LNG Canada awarded the contract to the Bird-Civeo joint venture. Since then, Civeo elected – with the consent of Bird, LNG Canada and its EPC contractor, JGC/Fluor – to end its participation, opening the door for Atco and its subsidiary, Atco Structures LNG, to partner with Bird.

Workers building Cedar Valley Lodge are expected to be housed in Kitimat’s Sitka Lodge, a 2,200-bed facility operated by Civeo.