COMOX, B.C. – The Comox Valley’s regional airport has received a funding boost from the provincial government towards two new projects.
“One is to improve the fuel tanker truck route,” said YQQ’s CEO Fred Bigelow.
“When we drive fuel trucks around the aircraft and get them around the side of the apron, we’re going to pave a large section to the west of the current apron.”
Bigelow said that plan looks to cost about $200,000, and the government has provided funding for about 75 per cent of that project.
He said the airport is also hoping to upgrade the lights on the apron.
“They’re pretty much warn out, but more importantly we’re going to upgrade to LEDs, which will provide better light and are of course, much cheaper,” he said.
Bigelow noted that the total funding from the province comes to around $210,000.
The funding comes through the BC Air Access Program.
“Yearly, it puts out a call for airports around the province, like Comox, to say hey, have you got some projects lined up and would they meet our criteria for taxpayers’ funding,” Bigelow said.
“Usually every year we put an application in, sometimes they’re smaller projects, some are larger like the projects we’re dealing with this year and we expect next year when the funding call comes out, we’ll have some projects lined up and we’ll be able to submit our grant application and see if the province agrees.”
