Completed: June 2018
System: Automated Logic Corporation (ALC)
About: The Iqaluit International Airport is located on Baffin Island, at the northern end of Frobisher Bay near the mouth of the Sylvia Grinnell River. The airport is essential for the servicing of some of the most northern communities in Canada. With this upgrade, the airport grew from 1 to 5 terminals in total.
Challenges: Working in lows of -40 ℃, through months and months of darkness in the Arctic presented an interesting challenge for our team on the ground which was led by Brent Watson. Take out the environmental concerns, the logistics for this project were staggering. Every single item that our team needed had to be shipped to Montreal, Quebec, and be ready for transport for one of the three yearly barges to the island. Our first shipment almost didn’t make it before the water froze for the winter. Not to mention a case of coke cost $24!
Successes: Electricity in Nunavut is created through diesel combustion, which is not only expensive but hard on the environment. One of the biggest wins for this project was our team’s ability to recover 100% of the heat from the airport’s building generators. The heat recovery system that our team installed enabled this excess heat to be used through the rest of the building. While the airport building was the most prominent establishment in the area, there were actually two structures that our team worked on while in Iqaluit. The CSB, Combined Services Building, was also constructed and commissioned by the same team. That means our team had to simultaneously build two work sites that were not within walking distance, and without a car. All in all, I think it is safe to say this was definitely one of our more interesting and challenging projects.