Prince Rupert container port may help Prince George Airport take off

The potential for international trade through the Port of Prince Rupert is proving to be a major financial boost for Prince George.

The Prince George Airport has an ambitious expansion plan awaiting financial approval , which with a positive decision could see that airport become one of the leading international gateways in Canada for international trade.

While some Prince George politicians as well as those in Victoria fly the flag of potential, critics suggest that it's more of a pipe dream.

The model for the operation seems to be the situation of Anchorage, Alaska which is one of the key transit points in international air cargo. Over the course of a year, Anchorage receives some 60,000 flights transporting cargo tr or from North America to world destinations. While they aren't getting carried away with similar figures for Prince George, the proponents of the airport expansion and enhancement plans suggest that a modest 1,500 flights a year is a definite possibility.

The Globe and Mail examined the project in Saturday's paper and on its website.

Prince George decision still up in the air
Airport expansion could let town become refuelling stop for international cargo planes
DON WHITELEY
Special to The Globe and Mail
July 21, 2007

Prince George Airport general manager Stieg Hoeg waits patiently for a federal government funding decision that he believes will turn this small resource city in the middle of British Columbia into a significant air cargo centre for Asia-North America cargo flights.

"It's a little nerve-wracking," Mr. Hoeg concedes. "I've invested three years of my life into this business, and it's down to waiting around for a yea or a nay."

Mr. Hoeg hopes that in the future, as many as four wide-body air freighters a day will drop in for gas. The Western Economic Diversification Fund is completing one last review of the proposed $36-million airport expansion, which would extend the 7,400-foot main runway to 11,400 feet.

The federal government has been asked to contribute $11-million through the western diversification fund. The province's share also depends on the outcome of the review.

"We've engaged a consultant with some expertise to help us, and it [the review] is ongoing," said Naina Sloan, director of policy and planning for the fund. "Once the due diligence has been completed, we'll be able to make a decision."

Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn reiterated his commitment to the funding decision in Prince George last week, but had no cheque.

That makes Prince George Airport Authority chairman Jim Blake a little nervous: "The danger is it takes two [summer] construction seasons to do the project. The invitations to bid are already out. If we get funding by August, we'll be able to get enough done this year to meet the completion date of the end of 2008."

Prince George's goal is to capitalize on the city's proximity to the new Prince Rupert Container Port and CN Rail's $20-million container and truck reload centre under construction in Prince George. These two developments open up potential for cargo to move among trains, trucks and airplanes. A recent forecast by The International Air Cargo Association said that global air cargo will triple over the next 20 years, growing at an annual rate of 6.1 per cent.

The airport is the first Canadian stop on the great circle route to North America from Shanghai, and is at the outer edge of the current range of a Boeing 747-400 freighter loaded to 90 per cent capacity. Mr. Hoeg said the airport could attract these aircraft for refuelling stops, then build on that through the container traffic.

Anchorage, Alaska, has become the world's third-largest cargo airport of this kind, handling 60,000 flights a year. Mr. Hoeg said Anchorage is bursting at the seams and Prince George is well-positioned to capture 1,500 flights a year.

Prince George hired Mike Tretheway, executive vice-president of Vancouver-based InterVISTAS Consulting Inc., to help develop the business case for the airport expansion. He sees significant opportunities if the plan is approved.

"As the airport develops in next five years for tech stops, then the inter-modal land-sea facility develops," he said. "All of a sudden Prince George becomes a good place to put a distribution centre; I can bring things in by container, and I can use cargo lift coming out of Prince George by air for urgent shipments."

L&M Engineering of Prince George is spearheading a drive to assemble 900 hectares of light industrial land near the airport to accommodate spinoffs. That would more than double the existing industrial land base in Prince George.

B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said the provincial government has already committed $4-million directly and another $11-million in interest-free loans through the Northern Development Trust. But his government is still reviewing the business case.
"We have not yet made a final decision, but I can tell you that the Premier and myself look favourably towards this project," he said.

The Northern Development Trust estimates the project would attract $60-million in private sector investment, and generate 370 person years of employment with a payroll of $15.8-million.

Federal Express, one of the world's biggest air cargo operators, has already had discussions with Prince George about the proposal.

"It's a Canadian solution," said Kevin Ackroyd, manager of international feeder aircraft operations, Canada, for FedEx Express. "Prince George could be an opportunity in the future. If there is a need and it fits with our business model it will be on the table."

But at least one transportation expert calls the plan an expensive "pipe dream." Dr. David Gillen, director of the Centre for Transportation Studies at UBC's Sauder School of Business, said: "One of the terrifying things is there are still people who have this notion of 'build it and they will come.' I would think it would not be a good use of investment dollars to see something like that happen."