The Government of Saskatchewan is more than doubling its investment in the Community Airport Partnership (CAP) program in 2020-21.
The province will invest $1.5 million in improvements to 15 community airports around the province, including the Weyburn Airport.
When combined with local matching dollars, this represents a $3 million investment in airport infrastructure.
This year’s investment will result in improvements to the Weyburn Airport, with $72,500 provided for a full rehabilitation of main runway.
“Community and regional airports contribute to our economy by supporting vital public services like Saskatchewan’s Air Ambulance, law enforcement and fire suppression,” Highways and Infrastructure Minister Greg Ottenbreit said. “These projects will be completed this year, providing an immediate boost to communities as we begin to reopen our economy.”
The province boosted the program by 21 per cent when it released its Estimates in March. In May, an additional $660,000 in stimulus funds were added, resulting in an overall investment of $1.5 million. That’s a year-over-year increase of 114 per cent.
CAP supports local airports offset the costs of rehabilitation and infrastructure improvements, with cost-shared grants up to a maximum of $275,000.
Most of this year’s additional funds come from the government’s $2 billion stimulus package that will increase investment in infrastructure to $7.5 billion over the next two years. The Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure will invest $300 million into stimulus projects that include TMS upgrades, passing lanes and improvements to municipal roads and airports.
Since 2007, more than $9 million has been invested in community airports and coupled with 50-50 matching community contributions the program has generated more than $18 million in airport improvements. A total of 36 different communities have benefited since the program began.
