The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec’s subsidiary CDPQ Infra has reached an agreement with the Canada Infrastructure Bank for the latter to invest in Montreal’s Réseau express métropolitain light-rail project.
The investment comes to $1.28 billion and completes the project’s $6.3-billion financing.
“We are pleased to participate in the funding of this important public infrastructure project,” said Pierre Lavallée, president and chief executive officer of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, in a press release. “Public transit is one of our priority areas. Our role is to invest alongside private sector and institutional investors, and other public sector partners to facilitate the development of strategic projects like the REM.”
The project’s construction began in April 2018, with the first trains on the 67-kilometre track expected to be running by the summer of 2021. The bank’s investment in the project will take the form of a 15-year senior secured loan, starting at a rate of one per cent and rising to three per cent over the term of the loan.
“We are very pleased to welcome the Canada Infrastructure Bank as a partner in the REM project. With this $1.28-billion investment, the REM’s financing is now fully completed. The construction of the project is progressing well and will intensify in the fall,” said Macky Tall, president and chief executive of CDPQ Infra, in the release.
Since the bank’s investment is a loan, the CDPQ Infra holds a 70 per cent stakes in the project, while the government of Quebec’s investment makes up the remaining 30 per cent.