Humber River Hospital redevelopment named winner at International Partnership Awards

Humber River Hospital‘s redevelopment project has been named Best Accommodation Project at the 2013 Partnership Awards ceremony, held on Thursday, May 23rd at the Park Plaza – Westminster Bridge in London, UK. Infrastructure Ontario’s Senior VP of Project Delivery, John McKendrick, accepted the Award on behalf of the Hospital and Plenary .

The Humber River project was selected from a number of global entries, including projects in Australia, France, Italy and the UK. Judges cited the project for “marrying highly complex and good quality design with an innovative approach to financing. They were impressed by the speed of the project’s financial close despite these complexities.”

The Partnerships Awards reward innovation, inspiration and collaboration. Eligible projects “demonstrate the true ingenuity taking place across the world, at both local and central government levels, as the private and public sectors raised the bar once again to deliver outstanding schemes in the toughest of financial environments.” Source: Paul Jarvis, Managing Editor, Partnerships Bulletin.

“We understood from day one that our community and the general public expected us to use the resources being provided for our redevelopment project wisely,” says Dr. Rueben Devlin, President and CEO of Humber River Hospital. “Having the financing strategy for our project recognized yet again by outside experts is very gratifying. It acknowledges the rigour we’ve brought to the process to ensure value for money for the taxpayers of Ontario. Our new hospital will be an amazing asset for our patients and our community. They can also be assured it was financed in an innovative, effective manner that has set a new standard for projects of this complexity.”

“We are thrilled that Humber River Hospital has yet again been recognized for its innovative financing approach”, says Mike Marasco, CEO of Plenary Concessions. “Plenary Health Care Partnerships is very proud to have been chosen as Humber’s partner for this important redevelopment project, which pushes the boundaries of technology risk transfer in a healthcare facility, as well as yielding significant savings for the hospital through both the AFP approach and the use of new bond financing structures.”

The Awards are sponsored by The Partnerships Bulletin, an international magazine that provides “in-depth updates on partnership working between the public and private sector, including the private finance initiative (PFI), public private partnerships (PPPs) and newer models, such as asset backed regeneration vehicles. Each hard-copy edition includes news, interviews with the top industry figures, in-depth market reports on partnership sectors and industry authored articles covering transport, waste, education, healthcare, housing, courts and leisure.” Source: Partnerships Bulletin

This is not the first time the Humber River project has been recognized for its financial integrity. Earlier this year the project won two awards at the 2013 World Finance Magazine Public Private Partnerships Awards: Best Healthcare Project, North America for Humber River Hospital and Best Project Sponsor, North America for Plenary Group. The awards were presented to HRH President & CEO Dr. Rueben Devlin and Plenary Group CEO Mike Marasco at a ceremony at the London Stock Exchange in January.

And last November the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) presented the project with the Silver Project Finance Award at its 2012 National Awards for Innovation & Excellence.