Ontario to fund Crosstown line with green bonds

Ontario is launching a green bond program in the coming weeks, making it the first government in Canada to do so. Green bonds were pioneered by the World Bank in 2008 as a tool to raise capital for environmental projects.

Ontario says the green bonds will enable it to raise funds at low interest rates, and “serve as a tool for the government to address critical infrastructure needs.

The inaugural Ontario issue is expected to be $500 million and it will be used to fund the Eglinton Crosstown LRT.

This is a19-kilometre light rapid transit line that cuts across the centre of Toronto.. The completed line will stretch from around Keele Street east to Kennedy Avenue, with about 10 kilometres in tunnels, and with 25 stops. It is the largest transit expansion project in Toronto’s history and is expected to be completed in 2020. Currently two tunnel boring machines, Dennis and Lea, are burrowing from Black Creek Drive to Allan Road. A second set of TBMs will be launched further west and all four will be extracted around Duplex Avenue. A joint venture known as 4-Transit Group consisting of MMM Group, Delcan and Hatch Mott MacDonald are leading the project for Metrolinx. HMM is in charge of the tunneling.

In announcing the green bonds, Glen R. Murray, the province’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, said: “We are proud that Ontario is also the first to develop a robust green bond program that helps achieve the province’s environmental and climate change goals while supporting the important infrastructure goals of our province and supporting Ontario’s economy.”