NCC Investment Group Inc. CEO says NEAS is sending machinery needed to move units
Two modular housing units are sitting unassembled on Kimmirut’s waterfront because there is no front-end loader in the hamlet to move them.
This situation offers a glimpse into various logistical challenges NCC Development Ltd. faces in fulfilling its goal to build 2,000 housing units in Nunavut, said Clarence Synard, president and CEO of NCC Investment Group Inc.
“We have modular units currently in Kimmirut, but no equipment large enough in the community to move them,” he told the territorial government’s government oversight committee on Sept. 5.
“Every single community has its own intricacies in the ability of what we can and can’t move.”
NCC Development Ltd. is the major sole-source contractor responsible for delivering 2,000 units as part of Nunavut 3000, the Government of Nunavut plan unveiled in 2022 to build 3,000 new units across the territory by the end of the decade.
Synard was on hand Sept. 5 to answer questions about findings in the auditor general’s report on Nunavut Housing Corp.’s management and delivery of public housing in Nunavut.
He said his company has found a solution for the Kimmirut situation: The sealift is scheduled to arrive in a couple of weeks and its crew has agreed to transport a front-end loader to the hamlet so local workers can move the materials from the beach to the construction site.
Once that arrives, he said it should take four to six weeks to assemble the homes.
He said the issue in Kimmirut only affects the two modular homes.
Work is also underway in Kimmirut to provide the community of 400 people with a sixplex. Materials for this project were delivered to the hamlet in fall 2024, according to an update provided by Nunavut Housing Corp. in June, and the project isn’t set for completion until 2026 or 2027 due to site-work delays.
Synard said the front-loader example in Kimmirut is an example of how crews can pivot to find a solution when equipment issues come up.
“We have different people in different communities that help us out with their equipment and the local hamlets as well, when available,” he said.
There are 34 multiplex projects in various stages of site preparation and construction across Nunavut’s 25 communities as part of Nunavut 3000.
Nunavut Housing Corp. is also procuring modular housing to meet its Nunavut 3000 goal.
In 2023, 22 of 172 homes Nunavut Housing Corp. entered into contracts for were modular, according to numbers provided during last week’s hearing by Eiryn Devereaux, the organization’s president and CEO.
This year, 54 of NHC’s 114 construction contracts were for modular homes.