Construction completed on BC hydro project

PRHP, a partnership between Acciona Infrastructure Canada Inc and Samsung C&T Canada Ltd, was awarded the C$2.63bn (US$1.93bn) contract by BC Hydro in 2015. It is one of Acciona’s largest projects in Canada.

To divert the river, the PRHP used road headers to excavate two twin tunnels 800m long and each with an 11m diameter. The tunnels were then lined with concrete. In total, more than 100m³ of earth was moved.

PRHP was also responsible for construction of the earthen dam and the roller-compacted concrete dam.

The Site C Clean Energy Project is one of the largest infrastructure initiatives in Canada. When it is complete in 2025, it will provide energy to a population equivalent to 450,000 homes or 1.7 million electric vehicles per year in British Columbia.

During construction, PRHP employed several measures to reduce the project’s carbon footprint. These included the use of an earth movement platform and GPS machinery tracking to optimise routes and fuel consumption, and construction processes such as a 5km conveyor belt rather than lorries to transport soil. PRHP said that in 2022 alone these measures avoided the generation of more than 10,000 tons of CO₂.

Site C has also focused on the circular economy. The project recycled a variety of materials at two processing centres on site which generated revenue used to fund community investment programmes.

PRHP is a partnership between ACCIONA Infrastructure Canada Inc. and Samsung C&T Canada Ltd. The main civil work contract includes the construction of an earth-fill dam, two diversion tunnels, and a roller-compacted–concrete foundation for the generating station and spillways.