SNC-Lavalin group makes $189 million on privatized highway

The consortium that owns and operates Highway 407 near Toronto announced its revenues for the year ended December 31, 2000 at $189.5 million. The consortium includes the Montreal consulting engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Inc. as well as the Spanish company Cintra, and Capital d’Amerique, a subsidiary of the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec. The income from operations before depreciation and amortization was $125.3 million. The project’s cumulative net loss is $87.3 million, 15% better than the forecast.
The 407 Electronic Toll Road was opened to much fanfare in the late 1990s as the first privatized major toll highway in Canada. It was built by Canadian Highways International Corporation, another consortium which included Toronto consulting engineers AGRA, now AMEC. Last year the highway recorded 70 million trips, and 419,000 transponder users. The extensions to Brock Road in the east and Burlington to the west will open to the public later this year.