The US stated of Minnesota and North Dakota have announced a public private partnership (PPP) model to carry out the Fargo-Moorhead flood prevention project.

The communities of Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN, along with Cass County, ND, Clay County, MN, the Cass County Joint Water Resource District, and the Buffalo-Red River Watershed District, have signed a joint powers agreement that forms the Flood Diversion Board of Authority (FDBA) to manage the project.

The Diversion Authority, to date, has engaged two primary firms to assist with the PPP procurement and implementation. These firms will consult with the Diversion Authority's local administrative, financial, and legal representatives regarding all aspects of PPP procurement and implementation. These include:

• Owner's Agent: CH2M HILL Engineers, Inc. (CH2M)
• Financial Advisor: Ernst & Young Infrastructure Advisors, LLC (EYIA)

In addition, the Diversion Authority has engaged firms to provide technical assistance in preparing the procurement documents and evaluating the SOQs and Proposals. These include:

• Houston-Moore Group, LLC (HMG) and sub-consultants: o Houston Engineering, Inc (HEI) o Moore Engineering, Inc (MEI) o Braun Intertec Corporation (Braun)

The project has been selected by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as a demonstration project that will be implemented using a Split Delivery model. Under this model, the multiple project features will be split into those implemented by the FBDA and those implemented by the USACE. The majority of the FBDA's features will be delivered through a PPP project, whereas the USACE intends to use traditional design-bid-build (DBB) and design-build (DB) methods.

The project involves the development of a diversion channel and associated infrastructure work package (DCAI WP). It  consists of a 58 km long and 460 m wide diversion channel, 2 aqueducts, 2 river inlets, various local drainage inlets, the channel outfall, 4 railroad bridges, 4 interstate highway bridges, and 10 county road bridges, as well as associated environmental mitigation and recreational features.

The project, which total investment is estimated at US$1.8 billion, will be developed on a design, build, finance, operation and maintenance (DBFOM) basis.

The FDBA may hold industry forums as early as the 4th quarter of 2015. The goal is to begin construction on the DCAI WP in the summer of 2017.

The project aims to reduce flood risk associated with a long history of frequent flooding on local streams in the area.

See Notice of Intent released by the Flood Diversion Board of Authority (FDBA).

We have recently reported on several PPP projects in the USA:

• Detroit street lighting
• Ports of Entry Electronic Truck Screening
• I-66 road HOT lanes
• Long-term lease of Nassau County wastewater assets
• Hudson River Rail Tunnel
• Kentucky High-speed broadband network
• Long Beach Civic Center