ATCO buys 40% stake in company behind Canada’s Grays Bay project
West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. president calls deal ‘huge step up’ in credibility for raising money to build $1.2 billion road and port.
A major construction and logistics company is paying $10 million for a 40 per cent control of the main proponent of the Grays Bay Road and Port project.
Calgary-based ATCO Ltd. announced its stake in West Kitikmeot Resources Corp. on Monday.
“We think that this is a really important project,” Jim Landon, president of ATCO Frontec, said in an interview Tuesday.
“It will be the only port in the North that will be connected by road.”
ATCO Frontec is a subsidiary of ATCO Ltd. that specializes in operations and defence support for remote locations.
“We are the part of ATCO that has the largest operations in the North,” Landon said.
The Grays Bay Road and Port project has been in the works for decades. It would connect a proposed deepsea port at Grays Bay in western Nunavut to the rest of Canada through an all-season road. It is expected that the port and road would also be used by the Department of National Defence.
Prime Minister Mark Carney recently announced the project had been referred to the federal government’s Major Project Office for fast-tracking.
“The logic behind it, in terms of supporting the mining industry and also having a defence aspect, is really important,” Landon said.
“We think we can bring something to the party in terms of our experience of operations, logistics and site services in the North.”
Brendan Bell, the chief executive officer of West Kitikmeot Resources Corp., agreed.
Bell said his company sought ATCO out because of the “kinds of skillsets they bring to the table.”
Though the pair are still working out the finer details of the deal, ATCO’s 40 per cent stake in West Kitikmeot Resources will give the firm roughly 40 per cent of the board seats, he said.
“It’s a huge step up in terms of capacity and credibility for us,” Bell said.
ATCO, a global conglomerate with 20,000 employees and $25 billion in assets, has not committed any of its own money to the approximate $1.2-billion Grays Bay build, said Landon.
But ATCO’s involvement will make getting buy-in from the federal government and private investors much easier, Bell said, adding it was an easy decision to make “Given their northern experience, their reputation, their relationships in Inuit communities.”
Located in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada, Nunatsiaq News is dedicated to covering affairs in Nunavut and the Nunavik territory of Quebec since 1973. It has been a partner to ArcticToday and its predecessors since 2016.
