a

4 a

"30 and [think we now have

THE FORMER mining town of Kitsault, which has slumbered virtually abandoned

See eee ee

for years on the north coast, has now been sold to an American firm which will use
itasa base to develop a high end tourism enterprise.

a By JENNIFER LANG:
THE AMERICAN * businessman

Kitsault is coming here next week: to meet

“his new neighbours, the ‘Nisga’a Lisims
. Government.

Lisims president Nelson Leeson said the

I.

“AL that time, we'll hear what his plans
*Leeson said. . .

‘Last week, Niho Land and Cattle Com-

are,’

pany, the company marketing the sale of the’
former mining community, “announced the

remarkable town had been sold to Kitsault

~~ Resort Ltd. B.C.

A businessman named Krishnan Suthan-
thiran, of Springfield, Virginia, is listed as
the owner.

_Kitsault, situated deep inside Observa-
tory Inlet, is about 40km directly. north of
New Aiyansh. ~

It falls within an area where the Nisga’a

“have specific treaty, fights and responsibili-

ties — including fee simple ownership of cer-

tain, adjacent ‘properties, fish. and wildlife.

harvesting” rights, commercial recreation
areas and cven ‘environmental assessment
_ rights.

tember, the Nisga’ a’ ‘government issued a
reminder.

Potential buyers were advised to brush up
on the terms of the Nisga’a treaty. '

“We don’t use that as a threat,” Leeson
said, adding the Nisga’a simply hope to
work with the new: owners.

~The Nisga’a are developing a “huge” ec-
otourism plan, Leeson said.

“We want the northwest to blossom into what
it can be and we want to be a part of thal.”

He expects he and his government will

who.
_ bought. the modern-day ghost town of

new owncr is flying to the northwest on Feb.

Mining town owner
to meet with Nisga’a

sit with the town’s new owners and’ 20 over

_ their long-term plans.

Its not known how many, offers came in
for the town, but the Lisims government was -
nol among those looking at buying the town
this time around,.

Leeson said the Nisga‘a had considered
possibly buying Kitsault when it was. origi-
nally put up for $20 million.

“We looked at that, and decided to wait,”
he said.

The new owners are planning to. refur-
bish the town and begin consultations with
the Crown and local. First Nations, Rudy .

Niclsen, president of Niho Land and Cattle _ .

said last. week. ;
~ “They want to bring this community ‘back 7
to life,” he said. “Along with the sale of sin- ~
gle family homes and condominiums, they
are looking at other possibilities, such as a
time-share vacation resort, and evena movie
studio. °

Kitsault has been abandoned except for a
caretaker couple since the early | 1980s,.when »

_ the nearby molybdenum mine closed. °°

The town site would, make an attractive |

‘resort or destination retreat: It's being ‘sold ©

as One property, but; a new owner could sub-

“divide it and Sell recreational homes..
ae After the town vent up ‘for sale in + Sep- can >

Kitsault boast amenities that should be the

o envy of most other northwest communities:

there’ are racquetball courts, a swimming
pool and hot tub, a library, theatre; curling
rink and puib. oo

-There are 90 houses, three apartment
buildings, a shopping and recreation centres,
and even a fully-equipped hospital.

‘The town’s infrastructure includes un-
derground phone and cable lines, a sewage
system, treatment plant and paved and land-
scaped streets.

Major airport work planned

MORE THAN $3 million worth of renova-
tions and runway work is scheduled to take
place at the Northwest Regional Airport this
year.
_q Interior renovations worth more . than
$600,000 to create a new passenger and bag-
gage check-in and screening area to meet
new federal regulations and a lengthening of
‘the main runway by 1,500 feet to 7,500 feet
should be finished by fall. says airport man-
ager Laurie Brown. |

The interior renovations have been sev-

eral years in the works and come after inten-
- sive negotiations between the airport and the

Canadian Air Transport Security Authority
(CATSA) over the scope of the project and
cost sharing.’

Airport “officials had been worried that
CATSA’s original plans would hamper any fu-
ture plans to increase the size of the terminal.

But Brown said he has now worked out a
solution with CAFSA to prevent that. .

“We're trying ‘to get this done by Sept.
a plan that in-.
cludes cost sharing we can take to tender,”
“he added.

In addition to construction for baggage

. screening, there'll also be a larger passenger

hold room because travellers’ are: now ‘re-
quired to check in earlier than before.

But cost factors prohibited putting in a
washroom so passengers who need to will
have to leave the secure area and then be
screened all oVer agains said’ Brown.

““It-would have been a small area overall
but very expensive,” said Brown of the now- 9
shelved washroom plan. :

He’s predicting an end of July date for the
completion of the runway extension which
will cost in the $3 million range. It’s being
partially financed by a $2.1 million federal
provincial grant. > a

‘The airport must first move ils navigation
equipment so that it fits in with the longer
runway, meaning that airlines will be with-
out this service for six weeks.
“Historically April, May and June is the
best time when it comes to weather and
we're working with the airlines to make this
as least disruptive as possible,” said Brown.

Trees have already been cleared and some
work done to prepare the ground for a base
for asphalt, he added.

- “Once the earthwork and preparation has -
been done, the actual paving won't take that
long.” said Brown.

The airport society which runs the facility
expects the longer runway to attract airlines
flying larger aircraft and has even speculated
on the possibility’. of enticing international .
air travel to Terrace.

Westjet has been tagged as a possible new
entrant for passenger service here but the
company has been silent on ifs plans.

Terrace-based Hawkair had protested the
work, saying that since landing fees will help
pay for the project, it would end up helping -
finance the arrival of any new ¥ competitors.

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