Post by ferryfast admin on Mar 31, 2012 13:26:43 GMT -5
Irving shipyard set to modernize
March 30, 2012 - 7:13pm
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
thechronicleherald.ca/business/79340-irving-shipyard-set-modernize
Halifax yard gets ready to be busy for a long time
The Halifax waterfront site where the nation’s navy ships will be built was almost condominiums.
Amid the hoopla at Irving Shipbuilding Inc. on Friday over an announcement of $304 million in loans from the Nova Scotia government to support the federal shipbuilding program, there was a moment of candour with CEO Jim Irving.
Irving was asked to consider what might have happened to the waterfront shipyard site had Halifax not won the rights to build $25-billion worth of ships for the federal government.
He paused, took a deep breath and gazed up and down the full length of the waterfront facility.
“Well, it’s hard to say. It would have become real estate, I suppose. Condominiums perhaps?” was how he summed up what might have happened to the property had Irving Shipbuilding not won the competitive bidding process.
An example of just how close the Irving shipyard came to becoming condominiums is just across the harbour, where Fares Inc. is building its $300-million King’s Wharf project at the site of the Dartmouth marine slips that were once owned by Irving.
Instead of potentially hawking condominiums at the site of a nearly dormant Halifax Shipyard, Irving said the business is preparing to put shovels in the ground before the end of 2012 to begin a modernization of the facility.
The modernization project will transform a significant stretch of the Halifax side of the harbour.
A $260-million repayable provincial loan will be used by Irving Shipbuilding to invest in the required infrastructure, equipment and technology improvements at the shipyard.
Irving Shipbuilding will be able to draw from this fund as it proceeds with the modernization of its Halifax shipyard.
The amount will be forgiven entirely in increments over the life of the contract if the shipbuilder can achieve an anticipated target of creating 4,000 jobs directly and through subcontractors.
A repayable marine industry loan of $44 million from the province will be used for mostly off-site human resource development and technology and industrial development.
These are elements identified as having long-term benefits for the entire Nova Scotia marine industry, according to provincial officials who participated in a media briefing at the shipyard Friday.
Irving said the $304-million commitment from the provincial government gave the Nova Scotia company the edge in “a tough and rigorous merit-based assessment process” to win the rights to build coast guard and navy ships for the federal government.
“Without this support (from the province), we would not be standing here today,” said Irving, amid cheers from several hundred shipyard workers gathered to hear the announcement of provincial support.
In addition to the loans from the province, Irving Shipbuilding will spend between $5 million to $10 million annually of its own cash in what was described as “sustainable capital investment” over the next 30 years. It will also contribute $250,000 per year over the next 30 years to support the Irving Shipbuilding Centre of Excellence at the Nova Scotia Community College.
The centre of excellence has a mandate to train a new generation of skilled tradespeople, with an emphasis on recruiting and training aboriginals, visible minorities and women.
Steve Durrell, president of Irving Shipbuilding, said the shipbuilder wants things to happen quickly after recently completing negotiations with the federal government on the umbrella agreement that establishes the framework for contracts.
“We are now focused on negotiating the contracts necessary to allow us to start construction on the first set of vessels, the Arctic offshore patrol ships,” he said.
Durrell said Irving Shipbuilding hopes to have initial startup contracts in place this spring to begin the engineering and planning process for these ships.
He said the interest-bearing loans announced Friday were guaranteed by the province early in the competitive bidding process and were critical in the winning bid put together by Irving Shipbuilding.
Jim Irving told a cheering crowd of workers he wants to maintain the momentum and get the shipyard modernization program going quickly.
“We want to keep things moving fast now. We want to build ... we want to go!” he said.
(bpower@herald.ca)
March 30, 2012 - 7:13pm
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
thechronicleherald.ca/business/79340-irving-shipyard-set-modernize
Halifax yard gets ready to be busy for a long time
The Halifax waterfront site where the nation’s navy ships will be built was almost condominiums.
Amid the hoopla at Irving Shipbuilding Inc. on Friday over an announcement of $304 million in loans from the Nova Scotia government to support the federal shipbuilding program, there was a moment of candour with CEO Jim Irving.
Irving was asked to consider what might have happened to the waterfront shipyard site had Halifax not won the rights to build $25-billion worth of ships for the federal government.
He paused, took a deep breath and gazed up and down the full length of the waterfront facility.
“Well, it’s hard to say. It would have become real estate, I suppose. Condominiums perhaps?” was how he summed up what might have happened to the property had Irving Shipbuilding not won the competitive bidding process.
An example of just how close the Irving shipyard came to becoming condominiums is just across the harbour, where Fares Inc. is building its $300-million King’s Wharf project at the site of the Dartmouth marine slips that were once owned by Irving.
Instead of potentially hawking condominiums at the site of a nearly dormant Halifax Shipyard, Irving said the business is preparing to put shovels in the ground before the end of 2012 to begin a modernization of the facility.
The modernization project will transform a significant stretch of the Halifax side of the harbour.
A $260-million repayable provincial loan will be used by Irving Shipbuilding to invest in the required infrastructure, equipment and technology improvements at the shipyard.
Irving Shipbuilding will be able to draw from this fund as it proceeds with the modernization of its Halifax shipyard.
The amount will be forgiven entirely in increments over the life of the contract if the shipbuilder can achieve an anticipated target of creating 4,000 jobs directly and through subcontractors.
A repayable marine industry loan of $44 million from the province will be used for mostly off-site human resource development and technology and industrial development.
These are elements identified as having long-term benefits for the entire Nova Scotia marine industry, according to provincial officials who participated in a media briefing at the shipyard Friday.
Irving said the $304-million commitment from the provincial government gave the Nova Scotia company the edge in “a tough and rigorous merit-based assessment process” to win the rights to build coast guard and navy ships for the federal government.
“Without this support (from the province), we would not be standing here today,” said Irving, amid cheers from several hundred shipyard workers gathered to hear the announcement of provincial support.
In addition to the loans from the province, Irving Shipbuilding will spend between $5 million to $10 million annually of its own cash in what was described as “sustainable capital investment” over the next 30 years. It will also contribute $250,000 per year over the next 30 years to support the Irving Shipbuilding Centre of Excellence at the Nova Scotia Community College.
The centre of excellence has a mandate to train a new generation of skilled tradespeople, with an emphasis on recruiting and training aboriginals, visible minorities and women.
Steve Durrell, president of Irving Shipbuilding, said the shipbuilder wants things to happen quickly after recently completing negotiations with the federal government on the umbrella agreement that establishes the framework for contracts.
“We are now focused on negotiating the contracts necessary to allow us to start construction on the first set of vessels, the Arctic offshore patrol ships,” he said.
Durrell said Irving Shipbuilding hopes to have initial startup contracts in place this spring to begin the engineering and planning process for these ships.
He said the interest-bearing loans announced Friday were guaranteed by the province early in the competitive bidding process and were critical in the winning bid put together by Irving Shipbuilding.
Jim Irving told a cheering crowd of workers he wants to maintain the momentum and get the shipyard modernization program going quickly.
“We want to keep things moving fast now. We want to build ... we want to go!” he said.
(bpower@herald.ca)