GN wants spending for roads, wharves and airport upgrades

A 20-year, $2-billion transportation wish list that would see the expansion of airports and the construction of wharves would drive up economic growth and drive down the cost of living, says Nunavut's transport planning guru.

Alan Johnson, director of transportation planning with the Department of Economic Development and Transportation, outlined the wish list to delegates of the Nunavut Mining Symposium in Iqaluit April 2.

The centrepiece is the development of a $1.2-billion highway that would connect the southern Kivalliq with Northern Manitoba.

"This [road] has to be developed," Johnson said.

The proposed road, which carries a price tag of $1.1 million per kilometre, could also link to roads being built by mining companies in the region and a proposed highway between Rankin Inlet, Chesterfield Inlet and Baker Lake.

It could also serve as a corridor for power lines or gas pipelines, Johnson said, reducing the environmental footprint of such projects in a region heavily travelled by caribou.

Nunavut's aging air transport infrastructure is also in need of a cash infusion, Johnson told conference goers. Many terminals were built for populations much smaller than what they now serve, he said.

"We need improvement to our infrastructure," he said. "You could say [most airports] were built in the 1950s and 60s."

The Government of Nunavut has upgraded terminals in Gjoa Haven and Coral Harbour, and paid for runway improvements in Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet.

The GN also plans a new $40-million air terminal in Iqaluit, a new $35-million airport for Pangnirtung and a $26-million relocation of Kimmirut's short and treacherous airstrip.

Arviat and Taloyoak are both scheduled for airport upgrades, each worth between $5 million and $6 million.

Nunavut's marine infrastructure is also woefully underdeveloped, although the GN has introduced floating docks in 16 communities last year, as well as cranes in 14 hamlets and 26 bollards for mooring boats in 11 communities.

And in this winter's federal budget, Ottawa announced it was spending $25 million to speed up construction of a commercial harbour in Pangnirtung.

Even so, Johnson described Nunavut's marine facilities as "very basic."

"If you compared marine facilities [in Nunavut] to what southern people have you'd be shocked," he said.

The GN wants money to build harbours in six other communities, as well as a deep water port in Iqaluit, although the Iqaluit project has enjoyed only tepid GN support in the past and still languishes as a concept only.

All told, the project wish list amounts to more than $2 billion in spending over 20 years.

With such a price tag, the federal government will have to step up with funding. But Johnson said if Ottawa wants to see Nunavut's significant mineral and petroleum wealth developed, the money would be well spent.

"If they invest this money, the net return is going to be huge for Canada," he said.

There could be at least 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 10 billion barrels of oil in Nunavut's Sverdrup Basin, according to estimates.

That, Johnson said, combined with current marine traffic that's only predicted to grow, means the GN is also lobbying the Canadian Hydrographic Service for better charting of Nunavut waters.

Tim Keane, operations manager with Canarctic Shipping, a Montreal-based company that services the Arctic mining industry, told the conference the federal government must also boost the amount of money it spends on icebreaking.

"As a Canadian that's something I wish would change."

Canarctic, he said, also feels the impact of a lack of marine infrastructure in Nunavut communities.