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![\"MIKE](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4163420_web1_250303-treatment-plant\u00a00589.jpg\")
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MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
Construction work continues at Winnipeg\u2019s North End Sewage Treatment Plant. <\/p>\n
Wiebe said bids are due June 19 for the design contract for the $1.57-billion nutrient removal project needed to complete the upgrade and greatly reduce the amount of algae-promoting nutrients that flow out of the plant.<\/p>\n
Since contractors need time to prepare for the large, complicated project, clear funding commitments would ideally come a month prior to that date, she said.<\/p>\n
Without the funding confirmation, the city could attract fewer bids for the work and less competitive prices, said Tim Shanks, Winnipeg\u2019s director of water and waste.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re a bidder and you\u2019re going to \u2026 finalize your bid on this project, you have to be convinced the project is real \u2026 that it\u2019s going to happen,\u201d said Shanks.<\/p>\n
Mayor Scott Gillingham said he\u2019s also concerned about getting a senior government funding commitment for the project in place as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need provincial funding, we need federal funding secured for this project to proceed. Otherwise, we have to go to a plan where we look at funding the entirety of Phase 3 through water and sewer rates \u2026 That would mean people\u2019s water and sewer bills would go up hundreds and hundreds of dollars a year. We don\u2019t want that. We want to maintain affordability,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n
The mayor said his office is communicating with senior governments on a near-daily basis about the need to complete the upgrade.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe only have weeks, months. I\u2019ve said that consistently,\u201d said Gillingham.<\/p>\n
The mayor said discussions are going well and he\u2019s confident the project will be completed, though he fears delays could lead its price to rise again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe sooner that funding is confirmed \u2026 the more certainty we have, the less likely it is that we\u2019re going to see significant cost increases. So, we need this confirmation and clarity from (the) provincial and federal governments over the next weeks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A provincial spokesperson did not directly answer questions about the specific concerns the city raised on the timing of funding this week.<\/p>\n
However, a spokesperson noted Premier Wab Kinew commented on the project Friday, when he was also asked about funding.<\/p>\n
\n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have a stream of funding to the City of Winnipeg called the \u2026 strategic infrastructure basket. It\u2019s about $100 million a year, currently about $30 (million a year) goes toward the north end (sewage treatment plant). As we go ahead to the next phases, we\u2019ll be directing more of that stream of funding to meet the need,\u201d said Kinew. <\/p>\n
The premier stressed his government is committed to the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to build the north end water pollution control centre, we\u2019re going to protect Lake Winnipeg in the process,\u201d said Kinew.<\/p>\n
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
X: @joyanne_pursaga<\/p>\n
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Joyanne Pursaga Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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