DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
A major construction project in Fort Providence is on schedule and on budget.

Tom Beaulieu, left, the minister of public works and services, toured the new Fort Providence health centre, which is under construction, on June 16 along with Mike Biglow, a site supervisor for ARCAN. - photo courtesy of Phoebe Parent

Tom Beaulieu, the minister of public works and services, toured the new health centre with Fort Providence Mayor Tina Gargan and Susan Christie, the hamlet's senior administrative officer, on June 16.

"It's a very impressive building," said Beaulieu.

The new building is replacing the aging health centre that is four decades old. The project, which has a total cost of $11 million including design and site preparation, is on track, said Derek Elkin, the assistant deputy minister of corporate service for the Department of Health and Social Services.

"We're on schedule," he said.

The health centre is expected to be completed in early 2015. A framing inspection was done on the building in early June and the project is moving onto the next stages including electrical, he said.

At 1,085 square metres, the facility will be about one third larger than the existing health centre. It will bring together health staff with social services staff, who are currently working in another building in the community. Approximately 19 people will be working out of the new building once it is completed, Elkin said.

The health centre will be on the building's main floor and the second floor will be used for small apartments for visiting staff including doctors and specialists. The apartments allow them to be close to their work, said Elkin.

For Beaulieu, the employment of local workers is one of the highlights of the project.

"I was very impressed by the fact they had all locals," he said.

Arctic Canada Construction Ltd., known as ARCAN, is the main contractor for the health centre. Digaa Enterprises Ltd. of Fort Providence has provided 11 local laborers. There is also a local site superintendent and two night watch people.

This is a substantial building for Fort Providence and for most of the staff to be local adds a lot of value to the project and means wages stay in the community, Beaulieu said.

Beaulieu chatted with some of the workers briefly during his tour. He said one of the reasons he wanted to tour the building is because a similar health centre is scheduled to be built in Fort Resolution, one of the communities in his constituency, in the near future.