The provincial government says that construction has officially started on Niagara College’s new Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre, but if this is the case, work has started before the college has selected the general contractor to lead the project.
The provincial government issued a news release on March 18 announcing the project, but a college spokesperson says competing general contractors have until April 2 to submit their bids.
These could be among the 29 contractors, including two from the Niagara region, who made the short list after a controversy about the initial prequalification process for five projects valued at about $30 million. the innovation centre is one of them, to be built with a $4.2 million provincial investment.
The new, permanent, high-tech manufacturing centre will provide students with more than 15,000 square feet of lab space for hands-on applied learning, innovation space for companies to work on site and office space for Niagara students and industry staff.
“The centre will also help Ontario’s small and medium-sized manufacturers save on production costs and reduce production time by providing them access to leading-edge equipment and state-of-the-art research facilities as well as the expertise and business services of faculty and students,” the provincial news release says.
Sounds like Niagara College already knows who they’ll be selecting. Likely the contractor who donates the most money back to the College.