Nunavut seeks private firms to build, finance, operate big new Iqaluit airport

With the new iron mine coming to Baffin Island there will be a significant increase in air traffic through Iqaluit -- which makes a private investor plausible. If there is any way private and funds can be used to address Nunavut's infrastructure deficit, it is certainly worth looking at.

Such a partnership could allow the GN to allocate funds for schools, health centres and other desperately needed capital projects.

http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/65674gn_seeks_private_firms_to_build_finance_operate_new_40m_iqaluit_airpor/

GN seeks private firms to build, finance, operate big new Iqaluit airport

"This is a significant project"

The Government of Nunavut took the next step towards a new, privately-built airport in Iqaluit June 29, when they issued a call seeking groups interested in building and running it.

The document, called a "request for qualifications," or "RFQ," asks groups, companies and consortiums to indicate their interest in the project and state their qualifications, a GN news release said.

After that, the GN will narrow the list to no more than three firms or groups of firms.

The top three firms will then be asked to submit proposals to design, build, finance, maintain and operate the new Iqaluit airport.

It's no secret that the cash-strapped Government of Nunavut plans to use some type of public-private partnership to pay for a new Iqaluit airport.

A 2009 GN estimate pegged the cost of improving the Iqaluit airport at around $40 million, but the cost of the project that the GN now contemplates is likely much higher than that.