Daewoo committed to wind turbine plant: premier
A Korean company transforming a shuttered Nova Scotia railcar plant into a wind turbine facility is committed to the operation's success, Premier Darrell Dexter said Friday.
Dexter, on a trade mission to Korea and the United Arab Emirates, said he met earlier this week with executive vice-president Y.Y. Koh of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
"He wanted to ensure that we understood — that Nova Scotia understood — that this was the opportunity for DSME to make its entry point into the North American market and this was not just a commitment made to a profit-making venture," Dexter told reporters during a conference call from Abu Dhabi.
"He said, 'I believe this to be an obligation that [Daewoo] has to the Trenton plant to ensure its success, to ensure its viability.'"
The project has buoyed the small community of Trenton, which was hurt by the closure of the steel manufacturer in 2006.
In March, the province announced it was putting $60 million into the $90-million operation.
The process of removing old equipment began earlier this summer, and hiring has begun.
Earlier this week, the province announced Nova Scotia Power and Daewoo had agreed to work together to build and use wind towers and blades made in Nova Scotia.
The government said Daewoo recently signed a letter of intent to supply turbine components for up to 100 megawatts of capacity over the next four years.
New technology coming
Nova Scotia Power will encourage the use of those components by independent power producers working on their own or in partnership with communities.
During his time in Korea, Dexter said, he toured Daewoo's ship-building facility in Busan — one of the largest in the world — where he saw metal fabrication technology that will soon be used in Nova Scotia.
The trade mission is expected to wrap up on the weekend.
Dexter said Korea and the U.A.E. have made a priority of forging relationships with the governments they're in business with.
"They don't approach the question of business contracts in the same way we do," he said. "They will tell you, 'If we don't see you, we're simply not going to do business with you."'
Dexter said the provincial government signed a co-operative agreement between the Halifax airport and Incheon International Airport in Seoul in hopes of boosting cargo traffic.
On Friday, the government also inked a memorandum of understanding with the U.A.E. to pursue new partnerships in education and training.