| May 21, 2010 New Taxiway to Stimulate Local Economy, Attract Investment ABBOTSFORD – Abbotsford MP Ed Fast was joined by Abbotsford – Mission MLA Randy Hawes, Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen and Abbotsford West MLA Mike de Jong to officially launch construction of a major expansion of the Abbotsford Airport. "This project is the result of a lot of hard work and patience on the part of our Abbotsford Airport Authority," said Fast. "These kinds of projects take vision. By dramatically increasing capacity, the parallel taxiway and apron expansion will allow the airport to serve a rapidly growing market and continue to drive economic prosperity in our region." “From Surrey to Hope, close to half a million people will benefit by the expansion at Abbotsford International Airport, the Fraser Valley’s gateway to the world,” said Hawes. “The new taxiway will keep flights on time which is very important as our airport is increasingly seeing more and more air traffic,” said van Dongen. “This project is yet another sign that our economy is moving forward and is a reflection of the federal and provincial commitment to investing in long-term infrastructure projects which support that growth,” said de Jong. The federal, provincial and municipal governments are investing $30 million for the construction of a parallel taxiway along Abbotsford Airport’s main runway. This will double both the arrival rate on Runway 07 and the departure rate on Runway 25, eliminating delays caused by aircraft backtracking on the runway. The expansion will increase the airport’s capacity to boost provincial tourism, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing aircraft taxi times and delays, and improve international trade by increasing the airports capacity to handle larger aircraft, typical of international flights. The federal contribution to this project comes from the $4-billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, which provides funding to provincial, territorial and municipal construction-ready infrastructure projects. Since March 2009, almost 400 projects have received a total federal investment of over $490 million under the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund across British Columbia. The Province is contributing $10 million to this infrastructure project. Since 2005, B.C. has invested $14.25 million towards expansion projects at the Abbotsford Airport. Since October 2008, over $5.3 billion has been committed for accelerated capital projects across British Columbia, which is estimated to generate more than 34,000 construction jobs over the life of the projects. -30- | |
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