RC121 NovDec 2025 - Magazine - Page 42
CLOSING SHOT
CONTINUOUS
IMPROVEMENT
ETRO VANCOUVER, the regional district, has long delivered on
some of the largest infrastructure projects in British Columbia—some you’ll know by name, while others are delivered
soundly with no fanfare.
Today, we have over 300 construction projects underway
ranging from routine maintenance to non-market rental
housing to major infrastructure replacements. Of those, 10 projects
rank in Renew Canada’s Top100 Projects report. But the reality is, most
people won’t hear about most of the other projects.
Even as the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant has captured
media attention, dozens of infrastructure initiatives have progressed
or been completed quietly on time and within budget. These projects
keep essential services running, generate jobs, attract investment, and
improve the quality of life for current and future generations.
Every day, more than three million residents (over half of B.C.’s
population) rely on our services, receiving some of the best drinking
water in the world, and trusting that the waste in their toilets and bins
is properly taken care of. Public infrastructure underlies livability and
economic prosperity, and it is the foundation upon which businesses
thrive and families 昀氀ourish.
But the challenges facing infrastructure delivery are increasing—our
region’s population is expected to reach four million by 2050, climate
threats and natural disasters are looming, our existing infrastructure
is aging, and costs have escalated. We must also comply with stricter
federal regulations for wastewater treatment to protect the marine
environment and public health.
Over the next decade, Metro Vancouver expects it will need to invest
over $25 billion into infrastructure to meet these demands. To e昀昀ectively
manage this enormous portfolio we’ve taken steps to continuously improve the way we deliver our biggest and most complex projects.
Metro Vancouver residents deserve to know their tax dollars are
working as hard as they are. True value in public infrastructure means
building the right projects, at the right time, with the right speci昀椀cations, so that they’ll serve communities for generations.
Since 2020, Metro Vancouver has made fundamental improvements
to how we manage and deliver our highest-consequence projects to
maximize this true value. We’ve created a Project Delivery Department, with a centralized Project Management O昀케ce, as an in-house
centre of project delivery expertise. This wasn’t just an organizational
restructure; it was a strategic investment in professional know-how
that’s paying dividends on every infrastructure project.
M
Jerry W. Dobrovolny is the
Commissioner and CAO of the Metro
Vancouver Regional District.
42—RENEW CANADA –NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
The Project Delivery Department has introduced new processes, such
as the Construction Impact Mitigation Framework, which standardizes how Metro Vancouver collaborates with its 23 member jurisdictions
(municipalities, treaty First Nations, and rural areas) on infrastructure
projects. This has turned what was once a series of ad-hoc negotiations
between local governments into a structured, e昀케cient process, resulting in
fewer surprises, improved cost certainty, and reliable project schedules.
Another change was the strengthening of the stage gate process
all the way up to the Board level. This requires major projects to pass
through formal go/no-go checkpoints where independent expert
advisory panels, member jurisdiction senior sta昀昀, and elected o昀케cials
ask tough questions, like, “is the engineering sound?” “are these costs
realistic?” and “do we have the right team?” This allows us to deliver
complex projects with con昀椀dence, preventing small issues from becoming expensive problems down the road.
The award-winning Second Narrows Water Supply Tunnel (pictured)
shows how this centralized approach works. The 1.1-kilometre, 6.5-metre-diameter tunnel is a remarkable engineering feat: this tunnel under
Burrard Inlet is one of the highest pressure soft-ground tunnels ever built
in Canada and is designed to withstand a one-in-10,000-year earthquake.
The project succeeded not just because of advanced tunnel boring technology, but because of the rigorous planning and delivery processes that
ensured every detail was scrutinized at each step along the way.
The next decade is going to be one of big challenges and big projects.
Our long-range capital plan calls for upgrades at four of our wastewater treatment plants and a major expansion at the Coquitlam reservoir
to secure a reliable water supply for the next 50 years. Climate change
is forcing us to build more resilient infrastructure; responding to population growth means increasing system capacity without disrupting
existing services; aging assets need to be replaced on time, and stricter
environmental regulations are driving continued investment. All of this
means we need to be structured and methodical in our approach.
Metro Vancouver’s Project Management O昀케ce has enabled continuous improvement where each completed project provides information
that makes the next project better.
In an era when every dollar counts, Metro Vancouver is investing tax
dollars wisely into infrastructure that delivers exceptional long-term
value, stability, and reliability. We’ve created a playbook for how public
sector organizations can operate at a large scale and deliver true value:
combine technical innovation with process excellence, invest in professional capabilities, and never stop improving.
RENEWCANADA.NET
METRO VANCOUVER
by Jerry W. Dobrovolny
