PRPA Announces Export Development Support for Burns Lake

PRPA ANNOUNCES EXPORT DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT FOR BURNS LAKE

March 29, 2022

The Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) announced today its financial support in the amount of $10,000 for the Village of Burns Lake’s Regional Mapping Project through PRPA’s Export Development Fund.

PRPA’s Export Development Fund (EDF) supports the planning, development, and implementation of economic development opportunities along the Prince Rupert Gateway. In an effort to foster the growth and transition of the Burns Lake and area economy, the Regional Mapping Project will identify and catalogue existing producers, their products and associated volumes, along with other relevant factors related to marketing and logistics. The community of Burns Lake will then be in a position to ascertain future opportunities for export business development to accelerate the establishment of a diverse, resilient industrial base there. The project is set to begin immediately and wrap up by September of this year.

“Export-oriented industries have a disproportionately large impact on our local economies, and are essential to achieving economic growth and expansion,” said Shaun Stevenson, President and CEO, Prince Rupert Port Authority. “PRPA believes it’s critically important to support communities within the Port of Prince Rupert Gateway like Burns Lake in exploring ways to successfully leverage their inherent market access to grow our collective Northern BC export trade portfolio.”

“The Port of Prince Rupert has had a significant and positive economic impact on the region. This partnership will identify potential opportunities to grow our local economy and for the community and surrounding area to benefit from our proximity to the Port and the ability to access global markets,” said Mayor Dolores Funk, Village of Burns Lake. “We are very grateful to the Prince Rupert Port Authority for their contribution towards this study and look forward to a strong working relationship in the future.”

This project marks the second investment of PRPA’s Export Development Fund since the fund was launched in 2018; the first was the development of an investment attraction strategy for the Skeena Industrial Development Park with the City of Terrace. To read more about the fund, visit https://www.rupertport.com/250000-export-development-fund-launches.

Potential EDF-qualifying organizations are encouraged to contact the Port Authority’s Public Affairs team at community@rupertport.com for more information about the fund and how to apply.