Manitoba Hydro, Wuskwatim dam bidder call off deal

Manitoba Hydro and the sole bidder on the Wuskwatim dam have parted ways, leaving the Crown utility on the hunt again for someone to build the billion-dollar project.

Hydro and the company, Kiewit Corp., agreed to call off the deal tobuild a $1.2-billion dam on the Burntwood River near Thompson, Man., Hydro CEO Bob Brennan said Friday.

Brennan said he cancelled the tender process when Hydro and Kiewit first agreed to work together; he's now going back over the list of other parties that initially expressed interest in the 200-megawatthydroelectricity damproject.

The Opposition Conservatives say without a contractor, the project's future is in doubt.

Brennan disagrees, calling the situation "a bump in the road."

"Matter of fact, we think it might even be a better time for us to start talking to people," he said. "We think we see signs of the marketplace changing somewhat, and it just provides a good opportunity for us to get closer to where we want to be."

The construction industry has cooled a bit, Brennan said,which could help encourage potential contractors.

Work onan access road andwork camp and excavation of the site is already well underway.

Brennan is confident Wuskwatim can still be built on schedule, which would see it begin operations by 2012.