Bob Fiander, Trades NL (VOCM News)
Projections from recent research released by Trades NL indicate that Newfoundland and Labrador will see only a fraction of the employment benefits from the Bay du Nord project.
Yesterday, the organization released an analysis of the impact of the construction of mega projects in the province over the last 35 years
All major construction projects to-date have seen significant employment from this province.
The lowest was Hibernia from 2011 to 2017, which had 62 per cent NL employment, and the highest was the Hebron gravity based structure from 1990 to 199, which had 100 per cent ;local construction.
Trades NL’s stats on employment by project (Trades NL)
Current projections, according to Trades NL, are that only 11 per cent of jobs from Bay du Nord will be local.
That news comes after Equinor signed an agreement making a Norwegian company the preferred bidder for construction of the associated FPSO.
Trades NL President Bob Fiander says Newfoundland and Labrador owns the resource and wants to play a role in building the topsides.
He says the province can construct the topsides, and points to topsides constructed for Hibernia and Hebron as proof.
PC leader Tony Wakeham calls the projections for Bay du Nord “alarming” considering it is such a big and valuable resource for the province. Wakeham says, if the PCs form government, he will sit down with all parties involved to figure out the right path forward.