On December 7, 2004, Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre Inc. (AHCC) and AHA Access Health Abbotsford Ltd. (AHA) reached financial close on a public-private partnership (P3) for a major BC hospital and cancer centre facility.

This is the largest P3 completed in BC to date, with an estimated capital cost of $355 million. The P3 agreement provides for the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of a new 300 bed regional hospital and cancer centre in Abbotsford, British Columbia. The new facility will be 60,000 square metres. The private partner, AHA, will provide facility management services over the 30 year operating term; including general management, helpdesk, food, housekeeping, laundry/linen, materiel, plant, protection, patient portering, utilities management and parking. After development is completed the public partner, AHCC, will be owned by Fraser Health Authority and the Provincial Health Services Authority/BC Cancer Agency (PHSA/BCCA). All health care services will remain the responsibility of Fraser Health and PHSA/BCCA. The new facility is expected to be completed by 2008 and the P3 arrangement will run to 2038.

This project received an award from project finance magazine for North American PPP of the year 2004 and awards in 2005 and 2008 from the Canadian Council for Public Private Partnership.

AHCC and its project manager, Partnerships British Columbia Ltd., were represented by Fasken Martineau with a team that included David Little and Paul Wilson (P3), Don Weaver (financing), Helmut Johannsen (construction), Norm Trerise (labour/privacy), Linda Huynh, Paul Armitage and Randal Dhaliwal.