Alberta reflects on 2022 infrastructure work
Schools and hospitals were a major focus for the province.
A rendering shows the design of the Gene Zwozdesky Centre. – Dialog Design
Alberta officials say 2022 was a major year for infrastructure work, outlining all the progress that was made on significant projects.
“Throughout 2022, Infrastructure played a major role in proactively rebuilding our economy. Many infrastructure projects around the province provided thousands of construction and related jobs in local communities,” said Nathan Neudorf, deputy premier and minister of infrastructure. “We have worked on accelerating priority projects and cutting red tape in order to get shovels in the ground faster at sites across Alberta. Moving forward into 2023, we will continue to work with the rest of government to ensure our province is focused on the priority infrastructure needs of Albertans.”
Construction was completed on:
- Nineteen school projects, creating more than 7,300 new and 3,800 modernized student spaces throughout the province. An additional 43 school projects are underway in the planning, design or construction phase.
- Four health projects, including the $1.4-billion 186,000 square metre Calgary Cancer Centre. Last summer, at the peak of construction, more than 1,650 trades and construction workers were on site.
- Red Deer recovery community facility. Another five facilities located in Lethbridge, Gunn, Calgary, Edmonton and the Blood Tribe First Nation are currently in the planning, design or construction phase.
Progress was made on:
- Phase I of the new more than $400-million Gene Zwozdesky Centre at Norwood. Currently 350 construction workers are on site daily.
- Redevelopment of the Misericordia Community Hospital Emergency Department. This $85-million project is supporting about 476 construction and related jobs and is anticipated to be complete in March 2023.
- Planning for the expansion and redevelopment of the Red Deer Regional Hospital. Design work is anticipated to begin in early 2023 and more information will be shared soon.
In 2022, Alberta’s government continued to announce funding approvals through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) for projects in communities around Alberta. Through ICIP, Alberta has been allocated $3.66 billion by the federal government to invest in infrastructure projects that strengthen the economy and build resilient communities. To date, more than 200 projects and project bundles have been approved for ICIP funding in more than 30 Alberta constituencies, allocating about 99 per cent of the provided funding to date.
These federal-provincial-local cost-sharing ICIP projects mean the investment of about $9 billion worth of design and construction work.
