Work to upgrade and repair the South Cariboo Regional Airport has been completed on time and on budget.
Last week the CRD officially reopened the airport after it received a new sub-base and asphalt surface for its runway and taxiway, had its airside apron reconstructed and had new LED lighting installed for its runway edge lights, apron lights and navigation aids. The total cost for these upgrades was $6.3 million.
Al Richmond, chair of the South Cariboo Regional Airport Commission and director for Lac La Hache and the 108 Mile Ranch, said these upgrades were necessary for the continued operation of the airport.
"The asphalt had deteriorated to the point where particularly the medevac jets - they could no longer tolerate to come in - they can suck up that debris, the sand and grit as the petrol breaks down the surface that goes, and it can break down the engines," Richmond explained.
The airport, located in the 108 Mile Ranch, was originally built in 1969 by the Block Brothers with the CRD taking over operating and maintaining the airport since 1981 through the airport commission. The commission is made up of representatives from the CRD, the District of 100 Mile House and the 108 Mile Ranch Community Association.
The airport's facilities are primarily used for general aviation, chartered passenger services, flight training, corporate travel and medevacs.
Richmond said the upgrades were made possible via a mix of provincial and federal grant funding. This includes $1.45 million from the BC Growing Communities Fund, $1 million from the federal Community Works Funding, and $2 million from the BC Air Access Program.
The remaining budget came from short-term borrowing that the CRD says will be paid back through taxation over the next five years. This will result, according to a 2023 CRD press release, in "increased residential taxation of $10 per $100,000 per current property assessment values" as well as increases of $34 and $25 per $100,000 for industrial and commercial taxpayers respectively.
In addition to the $6.3 million budget, an additional $300,000 was incurred in design, engineering and project administration for the project.
Richmond feels elated to see the upgrades completed, noting the airport already has seen renewed interest from the aviation community.
"We're hearing good reports, pilots from across the province who are now wanting to fly up there in front of the airport - we've had interest in putting new hangar facilities in from other folks that want to come in and invest here."
Future upgrades that are set to be installed at the regional airport will include new hangars, Richmond confirmed, with the area where they'll go already flattened out. He did not give a date on when these new hangers will go in, but noted the CRD is running out of space to expand the facilities further.
"There's a lot of demand - we're pretty much out of hanger space - we've pretty much maxed everything out," Richmond noted.
