Ground broken on naval facility
Refuelling station for new Arctic naval ships at Nanasivik was scaled back and delayed
Casey Lessard
Northern News Services
Monday, July 27, 2015
NANISIVIK
Five years later than planned, the federal government has broken ground on the Nanisivik Naval Facility near Arctic Bay. The project is expected to cost $146 million, including tax, and is on track to open in 2018.
Julian Fantino, the associate minister of the Department of National Defence, readies a piece of heavy equipment to help break ground on a new Nanisivik Naval Facility July 15. - Clare Kines photo |
"The Nanisivik Naval Facility will allow the Royal Canadian Navy to maintain its presence in Arctic waters, helping to ensure the preservation of Arctic sovereignty," Julian Fantino, the associate minister of the Department of National Defence, said in a July 15 news release after breaking ground on the site.
"Working alongside Inuit, First Nations, territorial governments and industry, the government will continue to further the security and prosperity of Canada's North for present and future generations."
The election year move comes as the government hopes to strengthen the perception that Canada is a strong Arctic nation at a time when sea ice levels diminish annually.
"As the activity in the Arctic by countries such as Russia has increased, the Canadian Armed Forces play a vital role in demonstrating a visible Canadian presence, helping other government agencies respond to challenges that may arise, and protecting the potentially resource-rich region," the release states.
Nunavut MP Leona Aglukkaq stated that the facility will help "exercise our sovereign rights in the Arctic," while "creating jobs, growth and long-term economic prosperity in Canada's North."
Almiq Contracting of Iqaluit will be among the beneficiaries of the project. The firm was awarded a $55.8-million construction contract last summer. The contract is expected to generate 50 to 60 jobs, according to the government release. When Prime Minister Stephen Harper first announced the facility in 2007, the cost was estimated at $100 million. In 2012, the project was dramatically scaled back from a permanent site for office, accommodation and industrial space to one unheated storage building with minimal staffing.
Nunavut News/North reported then the project plans to store only one season's worth of fuel, half of the amount originally planned. The facility will now only open as needed when the Royal Canadian Navy's new Arctic/offshore patrol ships are able to navigate the waters.
In 2014, Canadian Press revealed that the government scaled back the project - with year-round facilities for up to 15 staff - after cost estimates reached $258 million. The facility's final scope was revealed in November 2014 when its water licence was received. It will include a deep-water berthing and refuelling facility, a site office, wharf operator's shelter, a temporary camp for 50 to 60 people and a helicopter landing pad.
