The Réseau express métropolitain (REM), a light rail system in Greater Montreal, is looking to raise as much as $2 billion in a bond sale, according to a spokesperson with CDPQ Infra, confirming an earlier Bloomberg report.
Bond Sale Details
REM, owned indirectly by Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, is considering selling bonds maturing in five, seven, 10 and 30 years, according to people with knowledge of the sale, asking not to be identified as they aren’t authorized to speak publicly. The deal could come to market as soon as Monday.
Project Status and Timeline
The 67-kilometre automated light rail network is almost completed, but it won’t be fully functional until 2027, when the Montreal-Trudeau International Airport will be connected to the system.
Cost Overruns and Funding
The project costs were estimated at $9.4 billion by Quebec’s auditor general in 2024, almost double than when the project was conceived in 2015. It is backed by the governments of Quebec and Canada, which have invested about $3 billion, but only the Caisse covers the overruns.
La Caisse financed the project with its own equity. La Presse reported last month that the capital frozen during the construction could now be redeployed in other projects, after refinancing at a good rate.
Representatives from the project spoke with investors last week, Bloomberg reported.
