Châteauguay Pool : Contract Awarded

On Tuesday, November 28th, the Régie Beau-Château awarded a $26.9 million contract to the Lambda-Lainco consortium for the construction of the Châteauguay indoor aquatic complex. The initial schedule called for the complex to open in autumn 2025, but this will have to be revised as the contract was signed later than expected.

Translation Amanda Bennett

At the Régie's special meeting this morning, Régie Executive Director Joëlle Ethier explained that the Régie had exceeded the 60 days stipulated in the call for tenders in order to meet the 2025 deadline. An initial meeting will be held shortly with the contractor to review the project.

The outdoor aquatic complex will include an indoor pool with ten swimming lanes, two one-metre springboards, a water games section with slides and interactive modules, and a toddler section with a wading pool and a beach. The two-storey building will be adjacent to the existing Sportplex in Châteauguay. The same contractor who built the Sportplex won the contract for the aquatic complex.

Châteauguay Goes It Alone

On the eve of the announcement of the awarding of the contract for the indoor pool, the two member cities of the Régie, Beauharnois and Châteauguay, announced that Beauharnois would withdraw from the project, arguing that it had other priorities than such an infrastructure. The costs of the Régie's other facilities, the Sportplex and the outdoor aquatic complex in Beauharnois, are borne 78% by Châteauguay and 22% by Beauharnois.

"I have great respect for the priorities that the mayor of Beauharnois has raised for his city. I have no problem with that," commented Châteauguay Mayor Eric Allard, pointing out that there was a very strong demand from Châteauguay residents for a new indoor pool.

Mr. Allard pointed out that he would be setting up an intermunicipal agreement with the city of Beauharnois for the use of the pool, and would be inviting other neighbouring towns interested in doing the same. He pointed out that the subsidy from the Programme d'aide financière aux infrastructures récréatives et sportives that the Régie is receiving for this project requires intermunicipal agreements.

According to the City of Châteauguay, the total cost of the project is estimated at $31 million. The Régie is receiving a $14 million subsidy, to which an additional $2 million was recently added.