Ontario Construction News staff writer
Municipal councils for Seguin and Parry Sound have approved a $1.3 million investment for construction and site preparation of 12 industrial building lots at the Parry Sound Municipal Airport.
The Parry Sound Area Municipal Airport Commission in June requested the funding for the work to be co-ordinated with an ongoing project to expand the airport’s runway and business park. The change would allow for the additional lots at a cost significantly lower than if the work is deferred.
“The idea was to create all the rock fill on-site and in doing so you would create lands for development,” airport manager Neil Pirie told the Parry Sound North Star in a story published on Monday.
The blasted rock would be used to fill in low-lying areas, enhancing both business and safety, he said.
“For the business park, it’s an opportunity to expand the businesses and to expand the economic impact of the airport, create jobs. On the air side, it’s to be able to have the users use the airport safely.”
Each municipality will contribute $650,000, reflecting the shared 50/50 airport ownership.
The commission’s request noted that, with construction activities already happening, “not proceeding with these lots now as part of the existing project would drive the cost up in the future,” the published report says.
Higher fuel costs have already increased the airport improvement costs by about $1.4 million, according to project engineer Tatham Engineering. Asphalt is now much more expensive, and the contractor’s fuel costs have increased to record highs.
Tathem’s preliminary estimates suggested the costs could double if the project doesn’t go ahead now. “Taking advantage of the economies of scale, we can get more done for really good savings at this point in time,” said Pirie.