Destination Sept-Îles Nakauinanu agency, working closely with its special partners, the Port of Sept-Îles, the City of Sept-Îles, and the ITUM Council, has begun a new phase in the project to bring international cruises to Sept-Îles.
The Port of Sept-Îles took advantage of the opening day of Sept-Îles Cruise Week to announce that it had begun the environmental process by filing a project notice for the construction of a terminal dock able to accommodate cruise ships. The Port also confirmed that it is about to award contracts for preliminary engineering work. Construction of the necessary port infrastructure should begin late in the year, once all environmental approvals are in place.
At the same time, key discussions and efforts with governmental stakeholders continue in order to complete a specific financing package for the port infrastructure. “The recent announcement that the two levels of government will inject nearly $100 million into developing new ports of call on the St. Lawrence River, with Sept-Îles as a profile destination, reaffirms and recognizes the efforts made thus far by project partners,” said Marc Brouillette, chairman of Destination Sept-Îles Nakauinanu.
It should be noted that to date, five international cruise ships have confirmed 2009 and 2010 layovers in Sept-Îles, bringing approximately 8,500 passengers and 3,600 crew members to our fabled region. A recent study on the economic spinoffs of cruises found that each passenger spends an average of $111 at each port of call, which could mean nearly $1,000,000 before adding in crew spending, which averaged $70 per member at each port of call.
Destination Sept-Îles Nakauinanu seeks to offer various public and private agencies “one stop shopping” that lets them take advantage of a permanent structure and work jointly to develop and promote their “product,” Sept-Îles and the surrounding region. Partners in the effort include the Innu Takuaikan Uashat Mak Mani-Utenam Band Council, Port of Sept-Îles, the City and COPIC of Sept-Îles, Sept-Îles Tourism, CLD de Sept-Rivières, and SADC de la Côte-Nord.
This project is reaching communities throughout the region who are coming together to say “ALL ABOARD!”