(File photo/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

Heliport to tender

Local contractors invited to submit bid on Nipawin Heliport construction

Jun 1, 2024 | 6:00 AM

The Nipawin Heliport project is one step closer to reality, after the Twin Lakes District Planning Commission (TLDPC) invited local contractors to bid on its construction.

The tender will include a mandatory pre-bid site visit at the Nipawin Hospital June 5 for interested bidders, and if there are any questions from the contractors they will be answered at that time.

TLDPC Chair Jerry Kindrat told northeastNOW the idea of a heliport in Nipawin became more urgent after the Humboldt Broncos bus crash in 2018.

“STARS (Air Ambulance) is here to stay. The importance of the heliport is to accomodate STARS,” explained Kindrat.

Choiceland town councillor Kyle Stromme said the plan is to have the project at a point where they can land a helicopter at the heliport this fall as a test run.

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He said the TLDPC has the synopsis for all communities in the Twin Lakes area, and that information is being passed around for all local contractors to have an opportunity to bid on the project.

Kindrat added that the TLDPC “would like to keep the contracting, tendering local as much as possible, and we do expect a lot of interest.”

The project is progressing quickly according to Stromme, and he said it’s come a long way in the last year or two.

“The community support and the local volunteers who are helping (to) fundraise, it’s just beyond words on how fast we actually are gaining (momentum),” Stromme said. “We’re not there yet but we’re close.”

According to Kindrat, they have raised about 80 to 90 per cent of their $800,000 goal. He added there are some hiccups that could surface during a project of this magnitude, but they’re as prepared as they can be to deal with them.

“Our level of excitement is extremely high.”

He said the necessary date of completion of the project is in September or early October.

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK