Airport improvements coming to Kuujjuaq

Two top transportation ministers visited Kuujjuaq earlier this month.

Jean Lapierre, the federal minister of transportation, was there to announce a $14.3 million project to build a new airport terminal building and to expand the airstrip and parking lot.

The work, to begin in 2006, will take two years to complete.

“This project will make it possible to support local economic activity and employment, while restoring essential facilities that should certainly be able to serve this community for many years to come,” Lapierre said.

Shortly after Lapierre took off for Iqaluit, Julie Boulet, the provincial transportation minister, arrived in Kuujjuaq.

Boulet did not announce any major projects, but she met representatives of the Kativik Regional Government and Makivik Corporation.

The issues raised during her visit included a need for more sea navigation aids and a subsidy to cover the higher cost of transportation in Nunavik.