The City of Terrace and Kitselas First Nation announced November 28 that they have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Qinhuangdao Economic and Technical Development Zone, a state-owned industrial park and economic development body in China's Hebei province.
The purpose of the MOU is to open up discussions with potential investors in Qinhuangdao about an economic development partnership that would see new investment in Terrace, including at the Skeena Industrial Development Park, a joint venture between Terrace and Kitselas.
"Diversifying our economy to include international manufacturing companies looking to access the North American market will bring long-term, high-paying, skilled employment to the region and add a much-needed industrial tax base to our communities," said Terrace Mayor Dave Pernarowski.
"We look forward to continuing our discussions with officials from Qinhuangdao where we can build on our relationship of mutual trust and cooperation between our communities."
Pernarowski told Business in Vancouver that developing the Skeena Industrial Development park would be a game changer for Terrace, the region and the province.
"To create a manufacturing hub in northwest B.C. is a pretty creative idea and something that would benefit all of British Columbia," he said.
"Right now, Terrace has very little industrial tax base, so we've relied very heavily over the years on small business and residential tax base to carry us forward."
The possibilities for the park include manufacturing facilities in the forestry, auto parts, agricultural products and wood processing industries.
An eight-member team made up of representatives from the City of Terrace and Kitselas toured Qinhuangdao in earlier this month to meet with the potential investors.
"It was very interesting to tour several technological and agricultural industries and to see how they work," said Kitselas Chief Joe Bevan.
"The industrial lands give us an opportunity for sustainable jobs that will last well beyond the short term construction work that we see in other industries."
