It’s not a final investment decision but LNG Canada is embarking on early site preparation at their proposed liquefaction plant site which will pave the way towards a smoother construction phase, the company says.
Marc Maeseele, LNG Canada’s construction project manager, said the town may see a bit of extra activity generated from the site but the amount of work and people will fluctuate as time goes on.
He said as of right now there are approximately 120 people working on site.
As well there is a flow of trucks and heavy equipment arriving to their site too, at the former Methanex property.
What the town may see mostly outside of the work site itself is an increase in shuttles moving the workers around.
In particular workers will be shuttled between the site and the LNG Canada-leased bed spaces at Civeo’s Sitka Lodge in the Strawberry Meadows area.
Maeseele said works to take place at the site will include developing access roads, removing topsoil, and clearing trees, among others.
Essentially the work gets the ground ready for the company if the partners of LNG Canada do decide to proceed after a final investment decision.
If a positive FID is made in 2016 the company would then shift to construction of permanent facilities on the property.
On the issue of transportation Maeseele says the company has made plan to ensure at least 90 per cent of the people involved in the project use shuttle service in an effort to take private vehicles off the road. The concern is with a project as large as theirs it provides a safety risk having people driving themselves and contributes to community traffic.
Maeseele said the company spoke at length with the District of Kitimat and through community members with their Community Advisory Group to know how to best operate a shuttle and even develop its route and schedule.
The company, through their camp and lease agreements in town, are also committing to develop housing for its workers that will mean no issues with renovictions which plagued the community through the Rio Tinto Alcan construction. That is when landlords were reportedly evicting tenants to renovate the units and rent them out at far higher costs.
LNG Canada’s ambition is that no project employees will seek housing on their own but will use company provided housing.