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CIB and Thompson Regional Airport close financing for major redevelopment project

The Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) and Thompson Regional Airport Authority (TRAA) have closed on a $52-million investment that will be used to redevelop Thompson Regional Airport in Manitoba.

In a Nov. 28 news release, CIB officials described the airport as “a hub providing essential passenger and cargo services” to communities in northern Manitoba and western Nunavut. The airport serves as a regional catchment area for 37 northern communities, which includes many First Nations – 15 of which are accessible only by air and the ice road – serving a market area population of approximately 65,000 people.

Located six kilometres northwest of Thompson, Man., the redevelopment of the Thompson Regional Airport includes the replacement of the air terminal building, which is sinking into the discontinuous permafrost; non-airside-related infrastructure, including extension of sewer lines from new terminal to expanded lagoon, parking lots and service roads; and airside-related infrastructure, including new apron and taxiways, and expansion of existing apron and related infrastructure.

“Following project completion, the airport will continue supporting long-term access to critical goods and services, including retail trade, medical, social, educational and fire suppression,” CIB said. “The project also ensures the airport’s operational safety as well as supporting the region’s critical mineral mining opportunities, growing cargo, and passenger travel needs.”

Without the financing and other government support, CIB said, the existing airport terminal building would eventually be made inoperable due to climate change.

The redevelopment of the Thompson Regional Airport is being financed through the CIB’s Indigenous Community Infrastructure Initiative.