The federal government is providing COVID-19 financial relief to the hard-hit Ottawa International Airport, including a top-up to pay for a planned light-rail transit station at the travel hub.
Omar Alghabra, the Minister of Transport, announced Wednesday that the feds will contribute $6.4 million from the government’s Airport Critical Infrastructure Program to help cover costs for Ottawa’s airport LRT station.
The total cost of the station, already under construction as part of the Stage 2 LRT in the city, is pegged at $16.9 million.
The second stage of Ottawa’s LRT is scheduled for completion in August 2022, though the contractor SNC-Lavalin has signalled possible delays in delivering the project.
The feds will also provide $5.69 million from the Airport Relief Fund to help YOW bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The airport has been closed off to international flights for much of the pandemic with steep declines in domestic traffic as well.
Transport Canada’s Airport Relief Fund, launched in May, has set aside $64.8 million in spending for airports that had 2019 revenue of less than $250 million.
Comments