Airport Authority Receives Funding for its $25.8 million Accessibility Initiative

ST. JOHN’S, NL, March 23, 2011 – St. John’s International Airport Authority received notice today that its tri-partite funding proposal to improve the accessibility of the airport during low-visibility conditions was accepted by both the federal and provincial governments. The announcement was made by the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, on behalf of the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of State for the Atlantic Gateway, and Susan Sullivan, Minister of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development with the Government of NL at a press conference located at St. John’s International Airport.

“The accessibility of a region is generally understood to be a basic building block for economic growth and development. This has certainly been recognized by our federal and provincial government partners today and we thank them,” said Fraser Edison, Chair of the St. John’s International Airport Authority’s Board of Directors. “This project will strengthen our provincial and federal transportation systems and will offer significant, long-term benefits for the social and economic development of our region. As the premier gateway to Newfoundland and Labrador, this project is truly a great investment in our entire province.”

The Accessibility Initiative involves the installation of a Category 3 Instrument Landing System (Cat 3 ILS) on the Airport’s principal runway and a number of associated infrastructure improvements required to support this technology. The result of this project is a significant improvement in the usability of the airport during extreme fog conditions by lowering the minimum operational requirements for an aircraft to take-off and land. The addition of this technology will increase the airport usability to 98.9%, putting St. John’s International Airport on par with the top 8 airports in Canada. It also means that of those 1000 flights and 100,000 passengers that are presently impacted by low visibility conditions on an annual basis, 700 flights and 70,000 passengers will be able to arrive and depart on time with the use of this technology. As a result, significant benefits will be realized by passengers, airlines and the business community.

The greatest value associated with this project is the economic benefit associated with reversing our reputation for being inaccessible. This means that conference groups that previously discounted our region as an option for national meetings may now include it in its rotation schedule; the province will become a more attractive place for businesses to invest and tourists to visit; and it will become easier to attract new airlines to the region.

This is a multi-year, $25.8 million construction project that will involve capital improvements on both of the airport’s main runways. Extensive planning has already taken place in anticipation of a favourable response to the funding proposals. As a result of the announcement today, work will begin in earnest to complete the project design in 2011 with the hope of starting construction before the end of the year.
The majority of the construction will be concentrated in 2012 and will involve the installation of new, energy-efficient runway approach lighting systems, in-pavement touchdown zone lighting systems, and aircraft taxi in-pavement lighting systems. Runway end safety areas (RESAs) will also be constructed on our principle runway (runway 11-29). This project will also involve asphalt paving, the removal of terrain obstacles, and other related civil and electrical works. In 2012, Nav Canada will install the new Instrument Landing System technology and will begin the certification process to become Category 3 compliant. It is anticipated that the travelling public will see the full benefits of this airport accessibility initiative in 2013.

The Airport Authority presented a proposal to the provincial government and the federal government in September 2009 to enter into a tri-partite funding arrangement. The partnership between the Airport Authority, the provincial government and the federal government will see each party contributing $8.6 million to this project. This is a one-time, strategic capital funding initiative that will generate a rate of return for government in the form of growth in GDP, employment and economic development.

“The value of this project is well-understood within our community and has certainly resonated strongly with many of our stakeholders who have been as equally passionate about this project as we have,” added Mr. Edison. “I would particularly like to thank Mayor Dennis O’Keefe with the City of St. John’s, the St. John’s Board of Trade, and Destination St. John’s for their continuous support for this project. I would also like to thank Nav Canada who assisted us in quantifying our existing and anticipated airport usability levels and will provide and maintain the technology that will enable our airport to be Category 3 capable.”

St. John’s International Airport Authority is a private, not-for-profit organization with the mandate to provide the region with a safe, cost-efficient transportation facility that is a catalyst for economic growth. Under the provisions of a long-term Ground Lease with the Federal Government of Canada, the Airport Authority is responsible for the airport’s operations on behalf of the community it serves.