Yellowknife (Aug 13/03) - Yellowknife is booming and on pace to earn its motto as the diamond capital of North America.

Many influential Yellowknifers are broadcasting the message that Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories are where the business action is at.

City of Yellowknife director of economic development, Peter Neugebauer says if ever there was a time for opportunity and growth in Yellowknife, this is it. - Stephan Burnett/NNSL photo

Mayor Gordon Van Tighem is one of those influential Yellowknifers trumpeting the call for business and industry to come North.

"Our percentage growth in GDP exceeded any other province or territory in Canada and our GDP per capita is the highest in the world," said Van Tighem.

Peter Neugebauer, director of economic development for the City of Yellowknife, says the city created the economic development department in response to the tough times of the mid-1990s.

"I was in the right place at the right time.

"When I came into this position the diamond rush was happening, but not everyone caught on too quickly, otherwise we'd all be rich," Neugebauer says with a bit of a chuckle.

Historically, gold mines have been one of the City's top taxpayers. But with the diamond industry, that's not necessarily the case, said Neugebauer.

"Many of the diamond companies have headquarters here and those personnel fly back and forth to their sites and live in town, but there's also the shifters, the blue-collar workers, who are two weeks in and two weeks out, and they don't have to live in Yellowknife. ... I mean God bless BHP and Diavik, but it's different than the gold industry," said Neugebauer.

The City's economic development officer argued the diamond-mining industry could provide a huge benefit for themselves if diamond workers were based in Yellowknife.

He points toward the Fraser Tower development, which was built by a developer under a guaranteed-occupancy arrangement with the federal government.

"That could be a way for the diamond mines to get into housing without paying for housing," said Neugebauer.

While diamond industry workers don't have to live in Yellowknife, there is still "tremendous demand" for housing within the city.

There is pressure on the city to develop residential land.

"It's more expensive here because we have to blast rock," Neugebauer said. "On the positive side, if ever there was a time for opportunity and growth, this is going to be it."

The prospects for oil and gas development, more diamond mines and tourism will all contribute to future growth for Yellowknife, he said.

Another challenge to growth is the condition of Highway 3, which Neugebauer says inhibits "rubber-tire" tourism.

"There's tremendous pent-up demand for road tourism to Yellowknife and on a bad day, when it rains, the construction at the very least, does not contribute to tourism," he said.

"Some bus lines don't want to go on roads that are not paved and some RV's don't want to be on unpaved roads," said Neugebauer.

"Rubber-tire traffic to Yellowknife will increase measurably and significantly once the road is finished."