Site of possible port development near Prince Rupert, B.C.
The Lax Kw’alaams band has emerged as one of six bidders for the former Skeena Cellulose pulp mill site on Watson Island. The band and a minority partner want to convert the site of approximately 104 hectares into a diverse collection of uses aimed at promoting and supporting the development of Prince Rupert as a port gateway to and from Asia. “Prince Rupert is three days closer each way by ship to Asia than is Los Angeles. For some of those larger vessels, that’s several hundred thousand dollars for each voyage,” said a First Nations leader. “The trick will be can Prince Rupert meet the capacity for future demand. We think it can,” he said. Last week, Prince Rupert mayor Jack Mussallem said city officials are now going over the bids and that a decision would be made early in the new year.
From the Terrance Standard, December 29, 2009