Federal government invests in LNG Canada turbines and Kitimat infrastructure

The Haisla Boulevard Bridge is scheduled for replacement now, thanks
to a funding announcement today from the Federal Government
(Photo from District of Kitimat)

As LNG Canada moves forward towards construction of their terminal facility in Kitimat, the will be doing so with an 275 million dollar investment from the Federal Government which includes two streams of funding.

In an announcement today Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau detailed the Governments funding of 220 million dollars to help fund highly energy-efficient gas turbines for the LNG facility in Kitimat.

Another 55 million dollars will be put towards public infrastructure in the Kitimat area, through the replacement of the Haisla Bridge in the District of Kitimat, as well as to support and service existing and increased traffic in the Kitimat region.

“The Government of Canada is proud to support this historic $40 billion project that will get our resources to new markets, diversify our trade, grow our economy and create middle-class jobs for Canadians, including First Nations and other communities in northern British Columbia. It’s a vote of confidence in Canada’s resource industry and is good news for Canadians right across the country.” – The Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance

More on today's announcement can be found here.

LNG Canada is the first of the many proposed LNG terminals to move forward towards development and is one of two proposed for the Kitimat region,

In the early days of LNG project exploration in the Northwest, Prince Rupert was considered the leading candidate to see terminal development move forward,  with up to five LNG terminals once proposed for the region.

However, over the course of the last few years,  what would have been some significant additions to the industrial base for the North coast began to drift away, as project after project shut down its planning for Prince Rupert.

From those days, the investment climate for LNG in the region has clearly shifted towards the Skeena Valley, with Kitimat hosting the welcome mat  as the new centre for the industry.

A look back at some of the Prince Rupert proposals and how they came to their fates can be reviewed here, as well as notes on the current projects under development in Kitimat.

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