Wabush N. L. receiving $4M airport upgrade for sewer system
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
The announcement of airport improvements in the small western Labrador community comes days after news that an iron ore mine could be reopening, pumping fresh air into the town's economy
WABUSH, N.L.—Quebec-based engineering services firm Cribtec Inc. has been awarded a contract worth roughly $4 million to build a new water reservoir and booster station at the Wabush Airport in western Labrador.
The contract is a part of ongoing renovation work on the remote northern community’s airport, and will see the facility’s aging water and sewer system replaced with a new reservoir and booster station.
Work is scheduled to begin this summer and is expected to be completed in February 2018.
Since 2012, the federal government has invested $64 million to improve Wabush Airport, which federal officials say is a vital part of Newfoundland and Labrador’s transportation network.
According to Transport Minister Marc Garneau, “the infrastructure improvements will help facilitate future economic opportunities that may develop for the people of western Labrador and surrounding communities.”
The project is expected to create local employment opportunities in the Wabush area, and the announcement comes just days after the news of a deal to reopen an iron ore mine in the region.
The Wabush Scully Mine was closed in 2014 due to high operational costs and low iron prices, but a Minnesota-based company, Tacora Resources, is looking to gain court approval to purchase the property and reopen the mine.
Tacora reached a five-year collective agreement with The United Steelworkers (USW), the union that has been trying to find a buyer for the mine since it closed.
The news of Tacora and USW’s agreement was met with enthusiasm in Wabush and seen as a solid first step towards restoring the hundreds of jobs that were lost when the iron mine shut its doors.
