Liberals warned to be careful before approving China bid for Calgary’s Aecon
OTTAWA — The Trudeau Liberals are facing warnings to proceed cautiously and in as transparent a manner as possible as they weigh a Chinese state-owned company’s bid to take over Aecon construction of Calgary.
The warnings come in the face of strong affirmations by the Liberal government that Canada’s pursuit of deeper trade relations with China is full steam ahead despite suggestions that such enthusiasm could risk angering the Trump administration during the North American Free Trade renegotiations.
CCCC International Holding Ltd. of China has made a $1.5-billion bid to buy Calgary-based Aecon Group Inc., which has a storied 140-year history in landmark Canadian construction and engineering projects such as the CN Tower, Vancouver’s SkyTrain and the Halifax Shipyard.
CCCC International has some less auspicious recent history. The World Bank banned it from bidding on construction projects for eight years until this past January because of a bid-rigging scandal in the Philippines.