Nunavut woos private sector for costly infrastructure

Nunavut’s legislative building is seen before the start of the G7 finance ministers meeting this past February. The Government of Nunavut is exploring public-private partnerships as a way to fund the construction of a permanent replacement for the assembly, the current lease for which expires in 2019. (FILE PHOTO)

Desperate for big-ticket infrastructure and lacking the money to pay for it up front, the Government of Nunavut is eying public-private partnerships to help fund $225-million in upgrades for Iqaluit.

The GN held a workshop Nov. 29 to outline two possible projects that could be built with private sector involvement: a new air terminal building for the Iqaluit airport, and a joint Legislative Assembly and Inuit heritage centre.

Strapped for cash after $110 million in cost overruns at the Nunavut Housing Corporation, and barred by law from exceeding a $200 million debt cap, the GN is looking at new ways to fund major projects.

“We have no money,” admitted Mark McCulloch, manager of purchasing, logistics and contracts for the Department of Community and Government Services.

But the idea is that the GN can use the private sector to gain outside financing, then qualify for funding from PPP Canada, a federal Crown corporation set up to encourage public-private partnerships.

“There is an opportunity here to get our hands on federal funding,” McCullogh told a small gathering of civil servants and representatives from birthright corporations and construction companies at an Iqaluit hotel.

There’s an opportunity for local companies to get in on the projects by forming companies who could then bid on contracts and line up funding from financial markets. Local business could also get involved as subcontractors.

The private sector would also assume the financial risk and meet performance targets set by the government, said Jonathan Burns, a consultant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

During an infrastructure conference in Iqaluit this past fall, Dale Booth, a senior advisor with P3 Canada said the Crown corporation can contribute up to 25 per cent of costs to approved projects.

P3 Canada plans on doling out approximately $200 million and $300 million for partnership projects over the coming year, he said.

Plans for a new Iqaluit airport terminal have been on the books for a while, because the current building isn’t big enough to handle massive growth in both passenger and freight traffic.

According to a slide show presented by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the project could also include a long-envisioned redevelopment of lands around the airport, including new commercial space, a new taxiway, airport fire hall and improvements to landing lights.

As for the new legislative building, the GN has been seeking a permanent home for one, because the current downtown location was actually built and leased to the government in a deal with Nunavut Construction Corp. which is set to end in 2019.

Tentative plans call for a building that has larger facilities than exist now, with more office space, parking and amenities.

GN staffers at the meeting were coy about where a new legislature would be located, but the City of Iqaluit has long planned for a new assembly building to go up on a parcel of land just past Bryan Pearson’s house on Apex Road. A newer, second proposal calls for a site near Tundra Valley.

Michele Bertol, Iqaluit’s director of planning and lands, said the addition of a second site presents a choice between a site that’s within the existing urban environment (Apex Road) or one that’s isolated (Tundra Valley).

The latter site “really gives you the feeling of being out on the land,” Bertol said. She added that the GN and the city would have to work out a lease agreement for either site.

The proposal for the 6,700-square metre Inuit Heritage centre calls for exhibit and archive spaces, studios and an auditorium.

Arcticle 33 of the Nunavut Land Claim Agreement states “there is an urgent need to establish facilities in the Nunavut Settlement Area for the conservation and management of a representative portion of the archaeological record,” but the GN has never had the money to build such a facility.

Most Nunavut artifacts remain in Yellowknife.