LetSA国际影视传媒檚 say you decide to renovate your home or put an addition on it.
WhatSA国际影视传媒檚 one of the first questions that arises?
How much is it going to cost? Naturally, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 what you need to know. Of course affordability is front and central.
And yet some officials from the Department of Infrastructure have been making stops here and there to give presentations on potentially expanding the Yellowknife Airport without any dollar figures attached. Oddly, this is known as a SA国际影视传媒渕aster plan.SA国际影视传媒�
They are providing five options SA国际影视传媒� some clearly more expensive than others SA国际影视传媒� but all with unknown price tags. Cost estimates werenSA国际影视传媒檛 even provided when briefing the Legislative AssemblySA国际影视传媒檚 Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment on March 31.
And that was despite previous stakeholder comments that included: SA国际影视传媒淒ifficult to evaluate options without costs. How will project be funded?SA国际影视传媒�
The existing airport terminal building is a little over 59,000 square feet. It was built in 1967 and upgraded in 1998 and 2005.
The master plan, completed before Covid-19 struck, projected strong airport traffic growth of 2.4 per cent per year. As the Infrastructure officials acknowledged recently, SA国际影视传媒渢hatSA国际影视传媒檚 no longer possibleSA国际影视传媒� due to the pandemic. In fact, the opposite has occurred. Passenger traffic has plummeted, down a whopping 62 per cent in 2021 compared to 2019.
DonSA国际影视传媒檛 get the wrong impression. This isnSA国际影视传媒檛 an argument to grind all airport enhancements to a halt. There have been and continue to be improvements to the airportSA国际影视传媒檚 fleet of maintenance vehicles and equipment. There are runway and lighting upgrades and better drainage initiatives. The airport lounge is being expanded too. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 been approximately $24 million worth of improvements since 2018. The facility has not been sitting idle.
And remember, since 2017, the airport has been able to retain revenues from such things as airport improvement fees to fund its own capital projects.
At this point in time, we certainly donSA国际影视传媒檛 need the Taj Mahal of airports. As Frame Lake MLA Kevin OSA国际影视传媒橰eilly pointed out, many people simply want better service: SA国际影视传媒淭hey want bridges, they want less waiting time, maybe a little bit better quality food, nicer seating, more space.SA国际影视传媒�
Yellowknife North MLA Rylund Johnson knocked the ambition to create an airport hotel and a bunch of retail space when thereSA国际影视传媒檚 already an abundance of vacant retail space in YellowknifeSA国际影视传媒檚 downtown, which is only 10 minutes away from the airport. HeSA国际影视传媒檚 right SA国际影视传媒� thereSA国际影视传媒檚 no need for the airport to be competing with downtown businesses.
The territorial government should concentrate its efforts on helping badly wounded NWT tourism operations get back on their feet. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 years worth of rebuilding to be done for those who survived the onslaught of the pandemic, a crisis that may or may not be easily manageable in the future, depending on the potency of the next variant.
So letSA国际影视传媒檚 approach any airport overhaul at a very slow and deliberate pace, not a full gallop.
A public engagement session is supposed to take place mid-month and thereSA国际影视传媒檚 a survey that will soon be available through the GNWTSA国际影视传媒檚 website. Those would be a good opportunities to let these Infrastructure officials know that their plans to expand the airport should be aborted for now.
