Iqaluit, Nunavut (April 28, 2023) – Nunavut Housing Corporation (NHC) and NCC Development Limited (NCCD) are pleased to announce the signing of design-build contracts for the construction of 150 new public housing units across eight (8) Nunavut communities. Construction will commence in Fall 2023.
The design-build contracts are part of the 2023-24 Public Housing Delivery Plan under Igluliuqatigiingniq, also referred to as the Nunavut 3000 Strategy.
The design-build negotiated construction contracts for 132 public housing units outside of Iqaluit include 20 new units in each of Arviat, Rankin Inlet, Baker Lake, Arctic Bay, Gjoa Haven, and Taloyoak, and an additional 12 units in Cambridge Bay.
The total contract value (including design and site costs) of these 132 units is $92.5 million – approximately $600 per square foot in construction costs. An additional 18 public housing units were also approved for Iqaluit at a total contract value of $12.8 million.
“The execution of these design-build contracts for 150 public housing units aligns with the vision of Nunavut 3000 and reflects a significant increase in the annual supply of new public housing units desperately needed across the territory,” said NHC CEO and President Eiryn Devereaux. “One of the guiding principles of the Partnership Agreement with NCCD was to demonstrate value for money and realize significant increases to supply of new units. The contract value reflects a significant reduction in construction costs relative to bids from the past two years, a signal that COVID-relative price escalations are beginning to soften.”
“Our organization is committed to mobilizing Inuit-owned and Northern resources to build homes by and for Nunavummiut. The Nunavut 3000 Strategy includes meaningful and effective training programs that will ensure we lead in the development of skills for Inuit who are interested in a career in the trades. Specifically, we have an Inuit labour target of 30% for our negotiated partnership contracts for public housing units and see this as an opportunity to increase training and capacity development for Inuit in the construction trades sector,” said NCCD CEO and President Clarence Synard. “This contract will also create many opportunities for NCCD to work with local and regional companies to perform various aspects of the scope of work.”
The total estimated cost of the Nunavut 3000 Strategy is approximately $2.57 billion to create up to 3,000 housing units across the territory by 2030, with approximately $890 million (35 per cent) targeted to be funded by private sector investment and approximately $1.68 billion (65 per cent) targeted to be funded by public sector resources.
For more information about the Nunavut 3000 Strategy, please visit, www.igluliuqatigiingniq.ca