VANCOUVER, Dec. 20, 2012 /CNW/ - WesternOne Equity Income Fund ("WesternOne Equity") (TSX: WEQ.UN, WEQ.DB.B, WEQ.DB.C) today announced that its modular
construction division, WEQ Britco LP ("Britco"), executed a contract to design, build and install the first phase of
a 2,000 room workforce accommodation complex for Manitoba Hydro.
The contract will occur in two phases and will provide workforce
accommodations for the construction of the Keeyask Generating Station
Project. In the first phase, Britco will provide 500 dorm rooms as well
as a gymnasium, recreation centre, water treatment facilities and the
kitchen and dining areas. Phase one will be complete in June 2014.
Phase two of the project is subject to Manitoba Hydro receiving
regulatory approval for the Keeyask Generating Station Project which is
anticipated in early June 2014. In phase two of the project, Britco
will supply and install the remaining 1,500 rooms for the workforce
accommodation complex.
The two phases of the project are aggregately valued at approximately
$207 million, with phase one totaling about $101 million and phase two
$106 million.
Manitoba Hydro's proposed Keeyask Generating Station Project is
estimated to be $6.2 billion. Keeyask is located in northern Manitoba,
725 kilometers northeast of Winnipeg on the lower Nelson River, 30
kilometers west of Gillam and will be Manitoba's 4th largest generating
station.
"We are proud to be working with Manitoba Hydro and its First Nation and
community partners on this important project and look forward to
designing and building one of the most advanced workforce
accommodations complexes anywhere in Canada," stated Darren Latoski,
CEO of WesternOne Equity.
The rooms will be manufactured in Britco's two facilities in British
Columbia and will have private bathrooms and hotel-quality finishes.
Said Latoski, "Not only does the Keeyask Project expand Britco's project
delivery capabilities beyond northern Alberta and British Columbia but
also it further diversifies our customer base by adding a strong
renewable energy provider in Manitoba Hydro."
Manitoba Hydro's Keeyask Project is the largest project for Britco
during its 35 years in business. Since it was acquired by WesternOne
Equity in June 2011, Britco has announced a series of expansion
initiatives including the establishment a modular building
manufacturing facility in Waco, Texas (September 2011) and the purchase
of a modular manufacturing business in Edmonton, Alberta (January
2012).
Forward-looking Information
Certain statements in this press release may constitute
"forward-looking" information that involves known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors, and it may cause actual results,
performance or achievements or industry results, to be materially
different from any future results, performance or achievements or
industry results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
information. Forward-looking information is identified by the use of
terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate",
"expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will",
"would", and similar terms and phrases, including references to
assumptions. Such information includes, without limitation, statements
with respect to: the design, build and install of a 2,000 room
workforce accommodation complex for Manitoba Hydro, the particular
facilities to be used by Britco to manufacture the required modular
buildings and the additional diversification of Britco's business that
will result from its work on the Keeyask Project. Actual events or
results may differ materially.
Forward-looking information contained in this press release is based on
certain key expectations and assumptions made by WesternOne Equity,
including, without limitation, expectations and assumptions respecting:
the timing of the rollout of the Keeyask Project, the outlook of
WesternOne Equity's business and the economy in Western Canada and the
United States, the supply and demand for WesternOne Equity's products
and services and management's assessment of future plans and
operations. Although the forward-looking information contained in this
press release is based upon what the WesternOne Equity's management
believes to be reasonable assumptions, WesternOne Equity cannot assure
investors that actual results will be consistent with such information.
Forward-looking information reflects current expectations of management
regarding future events and operating performance as of the date of
this press release. Such information involves significant risks and
uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance
or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether
or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause
actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the
forward-looking information, and a description of these factors can be
found under "Risk Factors" in WesternOne Equity's Annual Information
Form dated March 29, 2012 and Management's Discussion and Analysis
dated November 14, 2012, which are available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
The forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified
in its entirety by this cautionary statement. Forward-looking
information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on
information currently available to WesternOne Equity. The
forward-looking information is made as of the date of this press
release and WesternOne Equity assumes no obligation to update or revise
it to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required by
applicable law.
About WesternOne Equity
WesternOne Equity seeks to acquire and grow businesses in the
construction and infrastructure services sectors in order to generate
stable and growing distributions to its unitholders as well as to
achieve overall capital appreciation.
Additional information relating to WesternOne Equity, including
WesternOne Equity's Annual Information Form and other public filings,
is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or on WesternOne Equity's website at www.weq.ca.
About Britco
With over 600 employees, Britco is the one of the largest providers of
temporary and permanent residential and commercial modular buildings in
North America and has one of the largest lease fleets of office
complexes, construction site offices and storage containers in Western
Canada. Britco has four manufacturing facilities located in Canada and
the United States; two in British Columbia, one in Alberta, and one in
Texas. Britco is a leading design-builder of a wide range of innovative
modular buildings for companies in the construction, energy and
resource sectors in Western Canada and the United States. One of the
largest and fastest growing construction companies in Western Canada,
Britco is headquartered in Langley, British Columbia.
Additional information about Britco is available at www.britco.com
About Manitoba Hydro
Manitoba Hydro is a Provincial Crown Corporation providing hydro
electric energy and natural gas to customers in the Province of
Manitoba. Manitoba Hydro serves 542,000 electric customers throughout
the province and 267,000 natural gas customers in various communities
in southern Manitoba. The Crown Corporation exports electricity to
electric utilities through participation in three wholesale markets in
Canada and the mid-western United States. Manitoba Hydro generates
self-renewing water power from 14 hydroelectric generating stations
located primarily on the Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Burntwood and Nelson
rivers.
With annual revenues of approximately $2 billion and capital
assets-in-service at original cost exceeding $13 billion, Manitoba
Hydro is one of the largest energy utilities in Canada. Manitoba Hydro
plans to invest almost $20 billion in new generation, transmission and
upgrades and reinforcement to its existing distribution systems over
the next decade.
Additional information about Manitoba Hydro is available at www.hydro.mb.ca
About the Keeyask Project
The Keeyask Project includes the Keeyask Infrastructure Project and the
Keeyask Generating Station Project. Development of the Keeyask Project
is a collaborative effort between Manitoba Hydro and four Manitoba
First Nations - Tataskweyak and War Lake (acting as the Cree Nation
Partners), York Factory and Fox Lake - working together as the Keeyask
Hydropower Limited Partnership.
Manitoba Hydro's proposed Keeyask Generating Station will be a source of
renewable energy, providing approximately 695 megawatts of capacity and
producing an average of 4,400 gigawatt hours of electricity each year.
Manitoba Hydro began work on the Keeyask Infrastructure Project -
including preliminary work on access road construction and camp
development - in early 2012. More information on the Keeyask Project
can be found at:
www.hydro.mb.ca/projects/keeyask/index.shtml
Trading Symbols
Toronto Stock Exchange: WEQ.UN, WEQ.DB.B and WEQ.DB.C
THE TORONTO STOCK EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
SOURCE: WesternOne Equity Income Fund