EBC wins C$178 million fixed-price contract to expand Ontario's Quinte Detention Centre

Infrastructure Ontario (IO) announced the award on Oct. 26. Once the addition opens, the eastern Ontario jail will be able to hold over 300 people, the agency said. The new beds are only part of the job. EBC will also enlarge the women's housing, recreation areas, the health unit and infirmary, admitting and discharge, and reception and visitation. IO's project page adds a separate room for the Institutional Crisis Intervention Team, offices for staff and managers, new entrances for the public and for staff, and a parking lot for employees and visitors.

The province is using design-bid-build. The design is finished before bidding and EBC priced the build at a fixed sum, so the contractor carries the risk of overruns on the agreed scope. IO says the model gives the owner more control and more room to react when conditions change. World Construction Network converted the price to US$126 million.

Procurement took two years. IO opened qualifications on Oct. 10, 2024, picked a shortlist and issued the request for proposals on Nov. 18, 2025, and named the winner on Oct. 26, 2026, according to the project page. IO calls the competition open, but it has not published the other bids or a breakdown of EBC's price.

IO has not set a completion date. On Oct. 28 the construction start and finish fields on the project page were still blank. Quinte is one of several adult jails the province is expanding, IO said.