Tuktoyaktuk (Dec 04/06) - A deep water port in Tuktoyaktuk could provide an economic boost for the community and help solve questions dealing with Arctic sovereignty, say government and industry officials.

Last month, NWT Premier Joe Handley and Transportation Minister Kevin Menicoche met with Northern Transportation Company Limited (NTCL) and Hallmark Tubulars Ltd. to discuss the idea.

"The establishment of a deep water port at Tuktoyaktuk makes a great deal of sense when considering the economic development of the community and the region," said Handley in a press release.

Industry members also agree with Handley.

"It's a huge opportunity," said Brian Crookes, president of Hallmark Tubulars Ltd., a Calgary based oil and gas tubular sales company.

A deep water port may help to bring industry to the North, he said. Hallmark Tubulars anticipates that its pipe products will be needed for the Mackenzie Gas Project, and there is potential to manufacture products in the North, he said.

In June, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with NTCL and the Inuvialuit Development Corporation to create Mackenzie Integrated Tubular Solutions. The joint venture company is located in Inuvik.

"Things should be done in the North," said Crookes.

A deep water port would also help to alleviate a future bottleneck problem for transportation of goods for the potential Mackenzie Gas Project, he said.

It would also provide another way to ship material to northern Alberta oilfields. Barges or ships could move products along the Mackenzie River, through the Slave River and to Lake Athabasca in northern Alberta, said Crookes.

Cost estimates are still unknown, he said.

Tuktoyaktuk MLA Calvin Pokiak said two previously built camps could accommodate workers needed to build a port, reducing some of the cost.

"Depending if the Mackenzie Gas Project goes ahead, it could serve the community well in the long term," he said. The port could also help answer Canada's Arctic sovereignty issue, added Pokiak.

In addition to discussing the idea with his government, Handley said in the press release that he may take the port idea to the federal government.