St. Hubert cries mayday
Airport upgrades. Urgent plea for $70 million from Ottawa hits turbulence
Allison Lampert, The Gazette
Published: Friday, May 04, 2007
Managers of Canada's oldest airport are urging an immediate deal with the federal government to kick-start a $300-million revival of the South Shore facility.
Money-losing Aeroport de Saint-Hubert needs $70 million from Ottawa to repair its runways. If it doesn't get it, the airport risks losing an expansion plan by Pratt & Whitney Canada to a U.S. rival, said Jacques Malenfant, manager of the Developpement Aeroport Saint-Hubert de Longueuil.
Pratt & Whitney could move its engine testing operations to a newly upgraded Plattsburgh airport, he said. That would deprive St. Hubert of up to 150 new high-paying jobs and millions of dollars in landing fees and rent.
"If the federal government gives us the money, we are ready to go," Malenfant said. "Just the Pratt & Whitney project would make St. Hubert profitable."
Besides using federal money to renovate and extend the airport's largest runway, the proposal calls for investments by the city of Longueuil, the provincial government and private investors. The plan would create a new hangar for Pratt, new taxiways, a small terminal to receive passengers and a facility to de-ice planes.
In return, Pratt would spend millions on the expansion, including rent for the hangar and higher landing fees. It costs $10 to land a tiny Cessna at the airport, compared with $2,000 for a 747.
But the head of Aeroports de Montreal - the body that oversees Mirabel and Trudeau airports - questions whether public money should be spent on infrastructure for a third regional airport.
"After having just resolved the issue of the duality of airports between Dorval and Mirabel, do we really want to embark on this again?" James Cherry asked in an interview. "I just look at this and I question, is this the best use of the public's money?
"Especially at this stage, when we have under-utilized runways (at Mirabel) 30 miles north of the city."
Cherry also questioned how the government could give money to St. Hubert when it not only doesn't fund the ADM's capital projects, but charges the airports rent: "Here we're paying rent to the government of Canada at the same time that they're giving money to other airports - there's some lack of logic there."
Despite lobbying by the Bloc Quebecois, St. Hubert had its initial request rejected by Ottawa.
Jean-Pierre Blackburn, minister of economic development for Quebec regions, said the St. Hubert plan was too expensive for his department.
Malenfant now is trying to get money from Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon.
Besides sparking debate over the role of public money in Canada's airports, the proposal is raising questions over the line between government spending and job creation.
"Anything that could add jobs to Montreal, we salute," said a spokesperson for Public Works Minister Michael Fortier. "But the money they're asking for and the number of jobs has to make political and economic sense."
Malenfant insists that St. Hubert's plan is about St. Hubert, not Pratt & Whitney, which makes jet engines. The proposal has support from the city of Longueuil, which is prepared to invest $25 million.
"The project would have spinoffs for all the industry nearby," said Jacques Goyette, vice-president of Longueuil's executive committee. "And we could attract more corporate business."
At present, the airport depends largely on a pilot training school, owners of small private planes and chartered flights by professional sports teams. The airport has no terminal nor the ability to de-ice planes. As such, it lacks the infrastructure needed to be profitable, Goyette said.
A Pratt spokesperson said the company supports the plan by Developpement Aeroport Saint- Hubert de Longueuil but she wouldn't elaborate on a possible move to Plattsburgh.
"It will have a lot of benefit for St. Hubert and businesses in the area," Pratt spokesperson Annick Laberge said.
Pratt has almost 1,000 workers at its St. Hubert facility, located on its own land near the airport runways. More than 100 workers test Pratt engines in functioning aircraft, Malenfant said.
Pratt & Whitney Canada has only two such facilities - the one in St. Hubert and one near Plattsburgh International Airport, which has a 3,650-metre runway. Pratt wants the St. Hubert runway extended from 2,390 metres to 2,740 metres so it can safely test its larger engines in a Boeing 747.
Pratt has said privately it is thinking of consolidating its engine testing in Plattsburgh, which could cost St. Hubert at least 100 jobs, Malenfant said.
It is money the airport badly needs, even though DASH-L has reduced the airport's debt from $1.3 million in 2004 to $500,000 in the last fiscal year.
Malenfant pointed out that while the ADM doesn't get capital funding now, the government spent millions to build Montreal's two major airports.
"Mr. Cherry doesn't need government support," he said. "They had lots of government subsidies to build their terminals and their runways."
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The planned money sources
Federal: $70 million
Provincial: $18 million
City of Longueuil:
$25 million
Pratt & Whitney Corp.:
$130 million (initial year, with $18 million for additional years)
Public-private partnership
(consortium including airport administrators, provincial government and private investors)
Other unnamed investors: Will contribute remaining $67 million needed for project
Plans include:
- Renovating the three aging runways
- Extending the largest runway from 2,390 to 2.740
metres in length and by 60 metres wide.
- Building a small terminal to accommodate 300 to 400 passengers
- Build new hangar to be leased by Pratt & Whitney Canada for its engine-testing work
- Pratt will invest in buying its own tools and equipment to consolidate engine-testing sites and will spend more to rent extra space at the airport and will pay higher landing fees than what they pay now.
- Build a station to de-ice planes
- Build two facilities, one for
pilots and one for maintenance crews
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