Symbolism and substance
Sod turning ceremony at site of possible logistics park.
The power of positive thinking was on display during a sod turning Wednesday at what is to be the site of a possible logistics park if a container development goes ahead at the port of Sydney.
The Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs was there in force, with chiefs or their representatives wielding shovels festooned with ribbons, joined by federal, provincial and municipal politicians and Jonathan Wener, CEO of Canderel, the real estate developer that is to oversee the construction of the Novazone logistics park.
While the ceremony was there, few additional concrete details about when construction may commence or when a shipper may officially come on board were available from officials.
Those who took part in the ceremony stressed that there was substance as well as symbolism behind it, particularly in celebrating the collaboration between project proponents and First Nations.
“It’s more than symbolic to us … It is a good step that we’re doing here to make sure that the public is aware that we’re serious about and being very committed to the development of the port of Sydney,” Membertou Chief Terry Paul said in an interview, adding he believes there could be a building on the site “within a year.”
Paul stressed that Sydney is the only port development in Nova Scotia that conducted what he described as proper Aboriginal consultation, saying the assembly hasn’t been approached by any other port about working together.
“We’re ready to be open for business at Sydport,” Paul said. “I know we’re at the planning and the estimates part of putting a logistics park together, which is a lot of work, so we are working together to make sure that we do this properly.”
While he said they will apply for government assistance for components of the project, Paul said it will involve substantial private investment.
Eskasoni Chief Leroy Denny emphasized the importance of the potential development in bringing home not only skilled members of local Mi’kmaq communities but other Cape Bretoners who have left the region for work as well.
What was new was word that the first phase of the logistics park would be constructed on 250 acres of land that was officially transferred from Ottawa to the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs for $1.
In 2015, CBRM council voted in favour of agreements reached through consultation with the local Aboriginal community. That agreement included looking at the transfer of 1,250 acres of property from Ottawa to the CBRM for $1 for potential container terminal development.
The agreements also stated that all construction and project bids will include a stipulation that at least five per cent of development costs will benefit the Mi’kmaq people
A news release issued by Membertou’s corporate division Wednesday said the Mi’kmaq-controlled portion of Novazone will be “one of the most prominent and significant sections of the 1,250-acre logistics park to be developed.”
The CBRM is working with Canderel on infrastructure planning, including water
and wastewater, power, road and rail access and Canderel is also actively marketing the project, CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke said.
“The First Nations will be taking that information and going forward with their infrastructure plan to the federal government under programming that they have available for infrastructure to them,” Clarke said in an interview.
As for the timing of the sod turning, Clarke said it was to build on the recent announcements that the province would subsidize operational costs for the Cape Breton & Central Nova Scotia Railway so it wouldn’t apply to abandon the Cape Breton section of the line, as well as a railway cost analysis funded by the Port of Sydney Development Corp.
The chiefs were also in the area to attend Wednesday’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s symposium at Membertou.
Actual construction of the site’s road network and utility grid could be seen next spring, Clarke said. The hope is that the CBRM will also soon formalize an agreement with the province on the Sydney west wastewater program, which would also tie in to the development, he added. Work on securing a shipper is continuing and “going very well,” Clarke said.
“The shippers want to know that the capacity is there to back up their decisions to move cargo through the port of Sydney,” Clarke said.
In an interview, Wener said the logistics park would allow companies to ship components in tax-free to be assembled, and then shipped to the end location.
“Instead of multiple shipping points, there would be one,” he said. “The park is a very important part, it’s a corollary to the shipping part ... Parts of it will probably get built simultaneously, as the port is under construction, there’s a three-year lead time on the construction of the port, there would probably be an 18-month lead time for the construction of some of the buildings here.”
Wener said they are currently collecting the tonnage worldwide that would be committed to Sydney, a process he called about 60 per cent complete.
Sydney Harbour Investment Partners has been given the exclusive right to market the port of Sydney for container development. Novaporte is being designed to accommodate 18,000-plus TEU container ships.
The entire project is to cover 2,000 acres.