Plan touts mining, tourism, hydro opportunities

A business plan pitching an all-weather road from the Kivalliq to northern Manitoba should be ready within two months.

Alan Johnson, director of transportation planning for the Department of Economic Development and Transportation says that the business plan would tout mining, tourism and hydroelectric opportunities in the region.

"With the potential of the Kivalliq communities and Northern Manitoba, as well as the hydro development within the region, [the study] would give us a positive business case to develop this road," Johnson said in an interview March 30.

The 1,200-kilometre road would link into the existing Manitoba highway system at Gillam, roughly 250 km south of Churchill. The Manitoba port town, plus Arviat, Whale Cove and Rankin Inlet would connect to the highway by feeder routes.

Johnson said the road would benefit the entire territory, not just the Kivalliq region.

Part of the business case would investigate the impact on Nunavut's high cost of living and the cost of doing business for mining companies in the region.

He added that plans also call for a right-of-way for hydro lines that would follow the highway route up from Manitoba.

When he was mayor of Rankin Inlet, Lorne Kusugak, now the minister of Community and Government Services, said, "If I had a magic wand I would push for a power line to Nunavut."

Johnson said there will be more than 60 bridges on the route, which crosses a remote environment, all of which pushes estimates of the project's cost to around $1.2 billion.

"It will be a big project and a challenging one to develop," he said.

Nunavut and Manitoba will have to secure federal money to get the road built, Johnson added.

In the meantime, the Government of Nunavut will try to score federal funds to pay for a series of other studies that have to be completed before construction begins.

Those route studies, feasibility studies and environmental assessments could take as many as four to five years to complete, Johnson said.