BCAdvantage 2008; Business and investment across British Columbia

The hulking cranes provide muscle for the new Fairview container terminal, billed as the fastest, least-cost container link between Asia and North America. Operated by New Jersey-based Maher Terminals, the $170 million facility is already a regular port of call for nine Cosco Container Lines vessels, the first shipping line to route Asian freight through Prince Rupert. The container project is a collaboration between Maher, CN Rail and the Prince Rupert Port Authority, in partnership with federal and provincial governments.

A great deal of work is being undertaken to build infrastructure for port-related businesses and increasing volumes of tourists. For example, responding to the new terminal’s technological needs, city-owned telecom CityWest is making Blackberry service available for the first time this year.

New business opportunities in Prince Rupert and all over B.C.’s North Coast are helping the region’s communities increase the diversity and robustness of their economies.

The North Coast’s strategic location, with ice-free deepwater ports and rail terminals, plus its wealth of mineral and power resources, is spurring investment and major projects. Alongside, a thriving tourism industry is showcasing the region’s rich aboriginal culture and unique biodiversity.

Among new Prince Rupert businesses, Quickload CEF, owned and operated by Toronto-based infrastructure developer Kilmer Group, operates state-of-the-art customs examination facilities used by Canada Border Services Agency to inspect containers arriving in Prince Rupert for contraband. The company’s current staff of 15 is set to triple this year, according to Quickload’s general manager, Jeff Mackey. This year, the company will move from temporary facilities to its permanent 25,000-square-foot warehouse, and offer container services like loading, storage and logistics services, helping to make the terminal among the most efficient in the world.

A 90-minute drive from Prince Rupert, Terrace is another North Coast town experiencing a surge, thanks to mining activity. Terrace Economic Development Authority’s Sam Harling says mineral exploration, worth $170 million in 2007, has helped the region weather recent forestry challenges.

“Certainly, a lot of our eggs were in the forestry basket. We’ve certainly seen major change in that, it’s true, but what is exciting is that Terrace has proven itself diverse enough to withstand that.”

Harling says that, along with the mining resurgence, Terrace has become a busy regional service and supply centre and has the region’s largest supply of available and affordable industrial land.

On Douglas Channel, Kitimat is counting on Alcan’s aluminum smelter modernization for its continuing prosperity, while it diversifies as an energy hub. Alcan’s smelter currently produces 245,000 tonnes of aluminum per year. The proposed $2 billion modernization will increase annual production to 400,000 tonnes.

A recent survey by Kitimat Terrace Industrial Development Society (KTIDS) shows overwhelming community support for the smelter modernization.

KTIDS also sees opportunities for Kitimat in the oil and gas industry. Society president Bill Eynon, a former Methanex manager, points to the successful transition of Methanex’s Kitimat terminal to supply Alberta’s oilsands with condensate. He says KTIDS is also supporting the prospects for a bitumen pipeline, a private port, and a liquefied natural gas terminal in Kitimat.

Major new projects are also planned to harness the North Coast’s abundant wind power to produce green electricity. Near Prince Rupert, Katabatic Power’s 15.5-megawatt 17-turbine Mount Hayes wind farm is slated for construction over the next two years.

West of Kitimat, Katabatic’s proposed 200-turbine Banks Island project will be among the world’s largest wind farms. Once underway, project construction will generate many jobs in trades and benefit local partners like the Gitxaala Nation.

“I think everybody is getting up to speed as quickly as they can. We’re very pleased to have this relationship that we have with the Gitxaala and we continue to work towards co-operation every day,” said Katabatic chief operating officer Jonathan Raymond.

Also gearing up, the area’s burgeoning tourism industry is inviting the world to visit the pristine Great Bear Rainforest, and world heritage sites on Haida Gwaii. Since 1990, Terrace-based Silvertip EcoTours has been taking international visitors deep into the Great Bear Rainforest to see its majestic inhabitants, such as grizzly bears, eagles and the rare Spirit Bear. Silvertip founder Fred Seiler, a former logger, is careful to minimize the impact of his tours on the delicate ecosystem. Interest in his expeditions is growing every year, so much that he sometimes reduces tour group sizes to keep his operation sustainable.

Near Skidegate on Haida Gwaii, a vibrant cultural tourism industry is blossoming. There, the Haida Cultural Centre offers a spectacular new showcase of aboriginal culture. Centre operations manager Jason Alsop said the centre drew 7,000 visitors during a trial opening this summer, ahead of its grand opening on Victoria Day 2008. The $28 million cedar-and-glass complex of five longhouses includes a museum, artisan workshops, performance and meeting spaces and Haida Gwaii National Park’s offices.

Alsop said that local people are starting to see commercial opportunities, such as bed and breakfasts and tours. The centre has already hosted educational and cultural meetings and a nationally televised adventure program. •

North Coast

•Hazelton

•Kitimat

•Masset

•New Hazelton

•Port Clements

•Port Edward

•Port Simpson

•Prince Rupert

•Queen Charlotte City

•Sandspit

•Skidegate

•Telegraph Creek

•Terrace

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