COMPANY NEWS – World awards, superhospitals, gold nuggets, company purchases

AECOM’s Sutong Bridge project in China’s Jiangsu Province has been selected as the world’s 2010 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
The Sutong Bridge has a span of 1,088 metres and is the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge, and the first cable-stayed bridge to surpass a 1,000 metre span. It opened to traffic in 2008, connecting the cities of Suzhou and Nantong. AECOM provided design and construction services for the project and was given the ASCE award in Washington, D.C. on March 25.
Wardrop of Toronto has acquired Hydromantis, Inc. of Cambridge, Ontario. Hydromantis has 17 employees specializing in wastewater and water treatment systems. Mike Newbigging, president of Hydromantis, said they were “excited” to be joining Wardrop, and they see “a bright future working together.” Wardrop is part of Tetra Tech, which has 10,000 employees worldwide.
Wardrop, together with its mining company clients, recently raised over $18,000 at a charity mineral auction. The event included auctioning a crystalline gold nugget with 22.3 grams of gold donated by Barrick Gold corporation. Proceeds went to PDAC Mining Matters, a charity dedicated to educating students about Canada’s geology and mineral resources, with outreach to remote Aboriginal communities. The event was held in conjunction with the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) Annual Conference and was held at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
Coffey Geotechnics Canada, a Canadian subsidiary of a firm with its roots in Australia, has been awarded a five-year contract worth up to $15 million with the Toronto Transit commission. Coffey will be doing geotechnical, geoenvironmental and hydrogeological consulting services in preparation for designing the planned Sheppard East, Finch, Eglinton and Scarborough transit expansion projects. Coffey is currently providing services for the $2.6-billion Toronto-Spadina Subway Extension, which is going to York University and the city of Vaughan.
AMEC has acquired Entec Holdings Limited, a UK-based environmental and engineering consulting firm that has 700 professionals on staff. Entec’s head office is in Newcastle, northeast England, and it has 13 other offices throughout the U.K. AMEC bought the company for 61.2 million pounds from an investor company Growth Capital Partners. Roger Jinks, president of AMEC’s Earth & Environmental Division, said “Acquiring Entec Holdings Ltd is another important step in our strategy of enhancing our water and environmental consulting capabilities internationally.”
Gary Tencha, P.Eng. has joined Morrison Hershfield Limited of Toronto as its Vice-President, Transportation for Western Canada, focusing on Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. He has 30 years of experience in the transportation sector, including P3 projects. Ansar Ahmed, P.Eng. is returning to Toronto to become Director of Business Development for the company.