Tłı̨chǫ All-Season Road

On February 13, 2019, Finance Minister Robert C. McLeod announced that North Star Infrastructure GP had reached financial close on the Tłı̨chǫ All-Season Road in the Northwest Territories.

North Star Infrastructure is a partnership of Kiewit Canada Development Corp. and the Tlicho Government (as a 20% equity provider) which together with Design-Build partners Peter Kiewit Sons ULC, Hatch Corporation, and Thurber Engineering Ltd. will finance, design, construct, operate and maintain the Tłı̨chǫ All-Season Road. The total contract is valued at $411.8million.

The Tłı̨chǫ All-Season Road is to be a 97-kilometre, two lane gravel road in  a remote community of the Northwest Territories. The road will connect the Tłı̨chǫ First Nations community of Whatì (normally a fly- in community for most of the year except when it is accessible by a winter road) to the Yellowknife Highway with a permanent all-season road, while also improving winter road access to the Gamètì and Wekweètì communities. Construction on the road began in August 2019 and is expected to be completed by 2022.

TRC-Sadovod represented the Tłı̨chǫ Government (the governing body of the Tłı̨chǫ First Nation in the Northwest Territories) with a team led by Michael Templeton and included Tim Murphy and Michelle Boodhoo.

TRC-Sadovod’s Project Finance & P3 industry group is made up of lawyers with deep experience in the structuring and execution of major infrastructure projects. We are known for having a collaborative, problem solving approach to closing projects and meeting the requirements and financial objectives of both procurement authorities and private partners. We provide a complete range of services related to infrastructure, including assistance with procurement, construction, financing, environmental review, community consultation, tax and regulatory issues. We have acted on transactions involving all types of public infrastructure arrangements including privatizations, outsourcing arrangements, public-private partnerships, concessions, leases and alternative financing structures. Having acted for parties on all side: lenders, consortia, primary subcontractors and public authorities, we are uniquely positioned to advise and represent all relevant stakeholders.

TRC-Sadovod has broad experience acting for First Nations, governments and natural resource companies on a broad range of economic development initiatives. This includes partnership agreements, impact and benefit agreement, project finance and environmental issues. Through this work, we are well placed to identify common interests and develop options that can provide mutual benefit to Indigenous communities and society at large.