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NLIS 4
May 17, 2001
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)


Minister awards contract for construction of The Rooms

Kevin Aylward, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, today announced that Olympic Construction has been awarded the contract for construction of The Rooms. The contract is valued at $33,600,000. This amount exceeds the budget estimate for the main building contract by more than $5 million. As a result of this and revised expenditure projections for the remainder of the project, government has increased funding authorization from $40 million to $47.5 million.

The increase in funding is related to several factors. The first relates to the need to increase the footprint size of the building to accommodate the priority to both preserve as well as interpret and display the archeological remains of the old Fort Townshend. This is seen as a high priority for government and consequently some 10,000 square feet are being added to the overall building size. Another factor is government's decision to use Newfoundland granite in the construction of the facility. This decision will support a local company, provide jobs for people in the province and promote a local product. This will have a lasting and positive impact as the product will be showcased at The Rooms complex. Electrical and mechanical equipment necessary to respond to the stringent environmental control requirements also exceeded estimates. This equipment is essential to the preservation of the irreplaceable cultural resources which will be stored and exhibited at The Rooms.

"Government remains committed to the construction of The Rooms as a necessary vehicle to secure our culture and heritage, to celebrate works of art, protect artifacts and archival materials, provide an education component to the public and add to our growing tourism industry," said Minister Aylward. 

"To support the conservation and preparation of the collections to be moved into The Rooms, 25 jobs have been created. Conservation of and access to our cultural and historical materials for our writers, film makers, artists, historians and other cultural workers are important to grow the heritage and cultural industries in the province. This is important as we are now employing 7,000 workers in the cultural and heritage industries and they are contributing $200 million annually to the economy. Books, poetry, web sites, films, music and artistic expressions are all important products to continue to see developed."

"With The Rooms, we are able to further develop our cultural tourism industry with the establishment of a year round, international-class cultural heritage facility to better serve the existing and emerging tourist markets such as conventions, learning vacations, the cruise ship industry, the outdoor adventure and family markets. Cultural and aboriginal tourism is the fastest growing element of the tourism industry in the world. This province, with our rich culture and heritage, needs to be well positioned to maximize these opportunities." 

"The Rooms provides meaningful opportunities for citizens and others to contribute to the preservation and presentation of the culture and heritage of the province. Specified endowments for research, art exhibitions and acquisitions, archival preservation and the presentation of our industrial heritage have already been offered to this project."

Concluding his comments, Minister Aylward said, "Government is pleased that the contract has been awarded and construction will commence in short order. The Rooms is a unique facility not only for the province but for the country. I am very pleased to see the project move into the construction phase. We are now even closer to the completion of this remarkable, state of the art facility that will house many of the treasures of this province. The Rooms is a facility that will support our sense of pride and identity in Canada and the world. 

Media contact: Catherina Kennedy, Communications, (709) 729-0928.

2001 05 17                                                 3:35 p.m. 


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