Province Funding New Fish Plant Study

Province Funding New Fish Plant Study

Thursday, November 30, 2006 at 15:32

 

 

More government funding has been set aside to take another look at the feasibility of a long-awaited fish processing plant in Prince Albert.

 

The provincial government has agreed to fund a detailed market assessment and related business plan at a cost of just over $250,000.

 

The money is being funneled through the Northern Development Agreement.

 

If this sounds familiar, it’s because a previous business plan for the project was also funded through the NDA.

 

However, northern fishers now want to see if the plant is viable if they handled the marketing of the finished product — instead of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation.

 

The project has been stalled for years because the fishers and the FFMC have different ideas on how the plant should be run.

 

Northern Affairs Minister Joan Beatty says the province wants to support the fishers.

 

That’s one of 10 new projects that have been approved under the NDA.

 

A total of $4.4 million has been set aside for the business plan, an improvement project for Highway 905 in the Far North and eight training and skills development projects — including a mobile training unit for trades education in northern Saskatchewan.

 

To date, $13 million of the NDA’s $20 million budget has been spent. The agreement is due to expire next year, although Beatty is hoping it can be extended or replaced by a similar program.