NWT airports get $19.8 million for safety work, repairs
Three airports in the NWT are to receive just under $20 million from the federal government.
NWT MP Michael McLeod announced the funding on Wednesday on behalf of federal transport minister Omar Alghabra. The money comes through a Transport Canada program for airports.
Fort Smith’s airport is receiving the lion’s share of cash, with more than $15 million going toward “overlays of airside surfaces.”
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The federal government said the money would improve the airport’s runway, taxiways, and aprons.
“All airside surfaces are over 20 years old and therefore beyond their life cycle,” Ottawa said in a briefing document, adding that “most of the degradation is linked to age and the severity of weather in the area.”
Fort Simpson is receiving $2.76 million to improve its airfield electrical system, while Yellowknife’s airport will get around $2 million to upgrade airfield drainage.