Quebec’s C$ 80 billion “Plan Nord” is arguably North America’s largest public infrastructure project and has project cargo providers drooling at the opportunity.  A grand design at least partly conceived as a bridge between multi-billion dollar mining developments for especially iron ore-hungry Asian steel mills and the 33,000 aboriginal people of northern Quebec, the Plan Nord unveiled last spring has awakened considerable interest from maritime transport providers, including those seeking new opportunities in dimensional and project cargo. The Plan Nord entails public and private investments of C$80 billion over 25-years. Encompassing a territory twice the size of France, it is the single most substantial Quebec government-initiated development plan, since the huge James Bay hydro-power complex several decades ago. Premier Jean Charest, who will be seeking election for a third term, has evidently placed big hopes on a success of the Plan Nord as his most important legacy. “We have created a new unit to capitalize on the emerging opportunities of the Plan Nord,” Suzanne Paquin, President of Nunavut Eastern Arctic Shipping (NEAS), told AJOT. “With rising activity in mining operations and community housing, we are preparing for growth,” Paquin said, recalling that NEAS has increased the capacity of its Arctic sealift fleet of four vessels by 160% in the past five years. “The Plan Nord has been a positive step forward for the Nunavik region of Quebec.” The four NEAS vessels, each equipped with heavy cranes, serve 14 communities in Nunavik, as well as 22 more in Canada’s Nunavut territory. “We are happy to see the Quebec government put emphasis on a region that has deserved more attention,” remarked Tim Keane, Vice-President of Enfotech, a subsidiary of Montreal’s Fednav Group. For stakeholders in the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Waterway System, the evolution of the Plan Nord is being closely monitored for cargo opportunities of all kinds. This, in essence, was the essence of comments to AJOT from senior officials with the US and Canadian St. Lawrence Seaway agencies and from Bruce Bowie, President of the Canadian Shipowners Association. The latter’s members includes such carriers as Algoma Central Corporation, Canada Steamship Lines and Groupe Dégagnes whose ships regularly call at ports located on the North Shore of Quebec’s St. Lawrence River along with large foreign-flag bulk vessels. Four of the province’s biggest ports in commercial tonnage terms are to be found on the North Shore: Sept-Iles, Port Cartier, Baie-Comeau and Havre-Saint Pierre. Open invitation to maritime transport sector “There’s place for all the players in maritime transport,” Nathalie Normandeau, then Quebec Minister of Natural Resources, said last summer, alluding to the anticipated major shipments required of construction materials, housing, and equipment for various mining and energy projects in progress or on the horizon. Investments are aimed at creating 20,000 jobs a year, generating more than $160 billion in growth and tax revenues of $14 billion. The government is breaking the plan into five-year increments, with $2.1 billion allocated for the first phase between 2011 and 2016. Most will be devoted to roads, airports, developing tourism and various infrastructure projects. The plan includes 840 new housing units in Inuit communities. A feasibility study is also being undertaken to establish a deepwater port at Whapmagoostui-Kuujjuarapik plus a road link to Radisson. One of the key features of the Plan Nord is the commitment to set aside 50% of Quebec’s north as protected environmental areas where no economic development will be allowed. However, the Quebec government has come under some criticism from private industry and opposition political circles for an undertaking to become directly involved in mining projects. Financial risks, the criticism goes, should only be assumed by the private sector.