Stantec continues work on Nunavut’s Grays Bay Road and Port project
October 3, 2024
By CCE Staff
Photo courtesy Stantec.
Following the announcement of additional financial stimulus, West Kitikmeot Resources (WKR) has commissioned Stantec to continue providing engineering and environmental services for the Grays Bay Road and Port project in Nunavut, to enable direct access to the Northwest Passage.
The project involves building an all-season road to connect a deepwater port in the centre of the Northwest Passage to Contwoyto Lake, the northern terminus of a winter road from Tibbit Lake in the Northwest Territories. Providing access from Southern Canada to the Coronation Gulf is intended to lower the cost of doing business in the region, unlock formerly inaccessible critical mineral deposits, create a nationally significant northern trade corridor, connect local products to markets around the world, augment Inuit and Canadian sovereignty and support the northern economy.
Nunavut’s government and the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) offering further financial support for the Arctic infrastructure project. Nunami Stantec, an Inuit-owned partnership between the Kitikmeot Corporation, Sakku Investments and Stantec, has supported the project since 2016.
“Stantec is also engaged with the government of the Northwest Territories for the southern portion of the road,” explains Stantec principal and infrastructure practice lead Arlen Foster, who is based in Yellowknife. “This is exciting as it opens the supply chain, empowering local communities and Indigenous businesses.”
The firm’s experience in leading large infrastructure projects in extreme weather conditions and remote areas include the Mackenzie Valley Highway, Slave Geological Province Corridor, Kivalliq Inter-Community Roadway, Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk Highway (ITH) and Iqaluit Airport.