P.E.I. government again seeking new use for Confederation Bridge fabrication yard

BORDEN-CARLETON, P.E.I. — The provincial government is making another attempt at finding a use for the old fabrication yard in Borden-Carleton.

Jamie Fox, minister of fisheries and communities, who is also the MLA for Borden-Carleton, announced recently that the province has issued a request for expressions of interest for the property.

That’s a complicated way of saying the province is looking for anyone with an idea about what to do with the yard to submit a concept for consideration.

Speaking in the legislature on Wednesday, March 11, Fox said this is “an emerging and excellent opportunity for new business, job creation and the economic growth of the area, as well as having a significant potential for the Island economy.”

There are some prerequisites that must be included in any submission. Full details can be found online. The deadline to make a proposal is April 14, 2021.

Fox has been pushing for something to be done about the yard for years and was vocal about it during the tenure of the previous MacLauchlan Liberal government, when he was in opposition.

Built in the early 1990s to facilitate the construction of the huge concrete pieces required to build the Confederation Bridge, the fabrication yard was a beehive of activity for several years with thousands of workers there daily.

However, the expansive 112-acre site, which also has a deep-water pier, has been empty since the bridge was completed in 1997. The land is owned by the provincial government.

There have been stop-and-start attempts to do something about the site for several years, including talk of a potential solar electric power plant, but nothing has ever come of those discussions.

Opposition Leader Peter Bevan-Baker agreed with Fox’s statement that the site has a lot of potential – but he questioned the minister’s decision to announce the request for expression of interest as a ministerial statement.

“I look forward to seeing the expression of interest that come on. But surely the ministerial announcement should be when you choose a project to fill this empty space that has been sitting there for almost 20 years and will be sitting there a little bit longer,” said Bevan-Baker.

“I look forward to seeing the expression of interest that come on. But surely the ministerial announcement should be when you choose a project to fill this empty space that has been sitting there for almost 20 years and will be sitting there a little bit longer."

- Peter Bevan-Baker

Liberal MLA Heath MacDonald noted that he had this particular file during his time as a minister in the MacLauchlan government and acknowledged it’s not an easy one.

Removing the existing concrete pillars and generally landscaping the site was estimated to cost almost $4 million at that time, so it is by no means a situation with a quick fix, said MacDonald, though he congratulated Fox on the effort.

Colin MacLean is the Journal Pioneer's municipal reporter.

Twitter.com/JournalPMacLean