On June 6, Cole International, a Calgary-based freight forwarding company with a Halifax branch office, shipped a load of video lottery terminals manufactured in Moncton to a customer in Peru. The shipment left Halifax airport aboard a fully-loaded 747 cargo plane—a flight that could not have been accommodated at the airport prior to the runway extension. A Cole International spokesperson told CBC radio that the company likely would not have gotten the contract—worth hundreds of thousands of dollars—without the recently opened runway expansion. The project extended the main runway at Halifax Stanfield Airport from 8,800 to 10,500-ft. Additions were made to both ends; 370-ft. to the north and 1,330-ft. to the south. The longer runway allows the airport to accommodate jumbo air freighters that have wider bodies as well as new international carriers. Aircraft can now fly out of Halifax with heavier loads which means local businesses (such as the seafood industry) won’t have to ship their goods to other airports like New York and Boston for international transport.

The total project cost of $28 million was covered by the Canadian government ($9 million), the Province of Nova Scotia ($5 million) and the HIAA ($14 million). Concept design was developed by HIAA and its consultants while exp Engineering and EBA Engineering provided engineering design; Dexter Construction was awarded the construction contract for civil and electrical works; and NavCanada was contracted to relocate their navigation services.