 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
High-speed on the way Miltenberger says fibre-optic line will be operational in 2016
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, June 20, 2013
INUVIK
The Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic Line project remains high on the territorial government's radar.
Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger provides an update on the Mackenzie Valley Fibre Optic project at the Inuvik Petroleum Show June 12. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
|
That was the message from Finance Minister Michael Miltenberger at the Inuvik Petroleum Show June 12.
Miltenberger spoke briefly about the project, which is expected to be complete in 2016. Before his presentation, Miltenberger sat down with Inuvik Drum to discuss it.
"I'm just going to give an update on the progress and let them know where we are with it," he said.
Miltenberger said various aboriginal governments have been approached as investors in the project.
"Those talks are proceeding at pace as well," he said in his trademark straightforward speaking style.
Excited about potential
He talked up the importance of the project, particularly its economic effects for Inuvik and the NWT as a whole. He said he is excited about the potential for Inuvik to become a major player in the satellite-data market, which could create many jobs locally.
"Inuvik over time has the potential to become the major high-altitude station for signal sensing in the area.
"It's going to add about $100 to $150 million a year to the economy and then there's the jobs going with it."
"It's an absolute good-news story for Inuvik, a great levelling effect for the economy so we're not constantly bouncing by the ups and downs of the resource sector. And of course the other great benefit for the North is that 12 communities will either have direct fibre-links or microwave links to the fibre in the valley."
Like Premier Bob McLeod, Miltenberger said improvements to the education system will be necessary to tap into some of that growth. The improvements are high on the government's agenda.
"It will be an added incentive for people to stay in school," he said. "This is a knowledge-based part of the economy, so you're going to have to go to school and be prepared to go to post-secondary and the opportunities will be there.
"There are other related challenges to education, but this ongoing project will develop over time and will create another opportunity for Northerners to have employment in the area."
The fibre optic line is expected to be complete by the second quarter of 2016, Miltenberger said. He expected at least some of the work to be tendered in the near future because the GNWT has just advertised a request for proposals for the project. There is $7 million allocated toward the project in the next two years. The total project is estimated to cost at least $60 million.
| 
