THE American millionaire businessman who bought an abandoned mining town along BC’s northern coast with hopes of turning it into an exclusive resort now believes it has a future as an energy export hub.
Krish Suthanthiran, owner of the former molybdenum mining town of Kitsault, is planning a facility of pipelines and other infrastructure for “oil, natural gas, and refined petroleum products that will travel to/from Kitsault, BC from Alberta, as well as Northeast and Northwest British Columbia, according to a statement on the Kitsault Resorts Ltd. website.
“These products will be shipped to Asia and other high demand markets,” the statement continues.
“This project is estimated to cost $20 to $30 billion. We will be working with a consortium of energy producers, governments, customers, engineering firms, investors, First Nations, and others to accomplish these goals.”
Suthanthiran is to be one of the speakers at a Jan. 8 press conference in Ottawa where facility plans will be officially released.
Kitsault was built in the late 1970s to house those working at a nearby molybdenum mine and their families.
But the market for molybdendum collapsed during the recession of the early 1980s so the mine was closed and the town abandoned.
Suthanthiran bought the town in 2005 and proposed various types of uses, including developing a high end resort.
It is located north of Terrace with access by road through the Nass Valley.
Suthanthiran’s plans come at a time when a number of natural gas companies want to build pipelines from northeastern B.C. to planned liquefaction plants on the coast for export to Asian customers.
At last count, two projects have received environmental approval at Kitimat and three more are being proposed – a third one at Kitimat and two at Prince Rupert.
