Jorge Barrera
Northern News Services

Rae (July 29/02) - The Dogrib Rae band has completed its community air-strip and is waiting for the right moment to hold an official opening.

The airstrip took five years to build and cost $2.5 million. It sits two kilometres down from Edzo on Highway 3.

The year-round, gravel runway is 1,700 metres long and built to accommodate large aircraft like Boeing 737s.

In 1998, an Air Tindi de Havilland Twin Otter landed smoothly on the first phase of the runway.

"This airport thing has been bandied around for 15 years," said Barry Conacher, project consultant with the band.

An opening was planned for July 15, but rain caused its postponement. It will probably be rescheduled for sometime in August.

Joe Rabesca has said in the past that the airport is a way for the Dogrib to compete with the Yellowknife dominated territorial economy.

Band-owned company Tli Cho Logistics took the contract for the airport.

The band also took 75 per cent of the cost of construction, investing substantial chunks of their agreement money with Diavik Diamond Mines into the project.

The federal and territorial government, along with Diavik also chipped in, said Conacher.

For now, the airport will be primarily used to ferry Dogrib workers to the BHP Billiton and Diavik mine sites.

"We will be getting into discussions with Diavik and BHP," said Conacher.

Shift-change flights to and from the mines currently leave from the Yellowknife airport.

The band and Air Tindi are also working out a contract to run flights from the airstrip to surrounding Dogrib communities.

The airport has not been registered yet.

The airport is part of a greater vision that goes beyond economic development, said Conacher."It's about communicating in the post-claim world," said Conacher.

It could also be a door for the band to get into the aviation industry, he added.